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Hayden Panettiere’s Case Takes A Disturbing Turn As New Details Emerge About The Weeks Before Her Tragic Passing
More than a month has gone by since Ice Princess star Hayden Panettiere‘s untimely demise at 38, but new details surrounding the case continue to emerge.
Tuesday, September 22, marked the release of the actress’s official cause of passing, with the coroner ruling it accidental and attributing it to the toxic effects of illicit substance use.
Highlights
- Hayden Panettiere had spent weeks at a rehabilitation facility shortly before her passing.
- Her father, Skip, shared that early fame and personal struggles shaped her substance dependency.
- The actress’s parents are now reportedly disputing ownership of her jewelry.
Now, a closer examination of the report has shed light on testimonies from her boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, and father, Alan Lee “Skip” Panettiere, regarding the period leading up to the tragedy.
Both men said she had been staying at a rehabilitation facility until a few weeks ago.
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Hayden Panettiere sought help for substance dependency shortly before her demise
Panettiere breathed her last at an Airbnb in Greenville, South Carolina, on August 16, making the Greenville County Coroner’s Office responsible for examining her toxicology.
The department revealed yesterday that fentanyl, along with a combination of prescription medications including alprazolam, known by its brand name Xanax, methocarbamol, a muscle relaxant, and quetiapine, an antipsychotic used to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other major depressive disorder, were found in her system.
Page Six unveiled a more detailed version of the report today, which stated that either Brian or his brother Zach claimed Panettiere had “a long history of d**g, al**hol and nitrous oxide a**se” and that he had “had to administer Narcan” to her before.
Narcan is an emergency medication used to reverse the effects of opioids.
The same brother insisted he was “unaware of the decedent using any illegal substance” in recent times, but added she was “very good at hiding them.”
One of the two Hickersons also said Panettiere “was in a d**g rehab facility in Malibu, California, up until a few weeks ago.”
According to the report, her father Skip confirmed the same, saying his daughter “had recently been released [from] rehab.”
He shared that she spent “two or three weeks” at the treatment facility.
The pressures of fame and personal difficulties shaped Hayden Panettiere’s history of substance misuse
Panettiere was only 11 months old when she booked her first showbiz gig — a commercial for Playskool.
At four, she was cast in the major ABC soap opera One Life to Live as Sarah Roberts.
She later played Lizzie Spaulding on another long-running show, Guiding Light, before appearing as a preteen in the hit Disney sports film Remember the Titans.
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Being in the spotlight from such a young age took a toll on her mental health, as she explained in a 2022 interview with People.
She confessed to turning to intoxicants as a reprieve.
“As I got older, d**gs and al**hol became something I almost couldn’t live without,” she said.
Skip, per the coroner’s report, explained that Panettiere “struggled with a**iction since her early 20s and [had] been in multiple rehab facilities since that time.”
He also noted that his daughter “suffered from postpartum depression” after giving birth to her and ex Wladimir Klitschko’s daughter, Kaya.
“Her a**iction issues escalated since then,” he said.
The grieving father also stressed that her relationship with her on-and-off boyfriend Brian had been “nothing but troubled.”
The duo began dating shortly after Panettiere’s engagement to Klitschko ended in 2018.
Several police records show Brian laying hands on the actress shortly afterward, with some incidents also resulting in his arrest.
Skip was, therefore, adamant about not wanting “any of the decedent’s personal property left with [Brian] or [Zach].”
Both he and Panettiere’s estranged mother, Lesley Vogel, requested the belongings.
Panettiere’s parents have become embroiled in a dispute over her jewelry
TMZ reported its own examination of the coroner’s report.
According to the outlet, “a clear plastic bag of white powdery substance in a suitcase belonging to the decedent inside of a gray sunglasses case” was discovered at the scene, as was “a cut straw with residue inside of a small blue colored makeup-type bag.”
Also located at the apartment was “a medication bottle labeled as Adderall to the decedent on the kitchen table that contained a small clear plastic bag with blue colored tablets that appeared to possibly be pressed pills.”
Per the report, the latter substance tested positive for fentanyl.
Regarding the jewelry recovered from Panettiere’s body, the outlet mentioned several stud-type earrings that remain with authorities in South Carolina amid both Skip and Lesley claiming ownership of them.
The report states, “Both parties were informed that until they could reach an agreement regarding the decedent’s personal effects, they would not be released.”
Vogel was not only Panettiere’s mother but also the person who introduced her to the entertainment industry.
She managed her career until she was 19, a role that contributed to friction between the two.
In her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, published in May, Panettiere said their professional relationship eventually led to their estrangement.
According to Vogel, however, she was the one who initiated the “no contact” arrangement with Panettiere after “20 years of trauma.”
She explained that it was difficult for her to watch her child make “self-destructive” choices, including substance use.
The new details emerged after Panettiere was honored at a church memorial over the weekend
Approximately 150 guests, including Paris Hilton and Panettiere’s former Nashville co-stars Connie Britton, Charles Esten, Lennon Stella, and Jonathan Jackson, honored the late actress at a Malibu church on Saturday.
Ruby Rose, who described Panettiere as her best friend, was also among those mourning her.
Sources described the memorial as both “emotional and beautiful,” which concluded with the release of doves, a poignant Christian symbol frequently associated with peace, hope, and the soul’s release into God’s care.
While Panettiere’s father was present at the ceremony, Lesley Vogel was not.
Some reports claimed she was not invited, while others said she cited a family reason for skipping the memorial.
“Shows you how well the rehab facilities work,” a netizen said about the new details
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