Hayden Panettiere’s ex Brian Hickerson was at her apartment when she died, police report reveals

GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA: Hayden Panettiere’s onetime boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother, Zach Hickerson, were at the South Carolina apartment complex where the actor went into cardiac arrest and died Sunday, according to a police incident report obtained by NBC News.

Panettiere was found unresponsive at Judson Mill Lofts in Greenville, where she had been temporarily staying. Her cause of death remains pending further investigation.

Brian Hickerson, brother were at Hayden Panettiere’s complex

The heavily redacted Greenville Police Department report states that Brian and Zach were at the scene while emergency medical services professionals worked on Panettiere.

Responding officer Matthew Bryan said he first spoke with Zach, who was “very emotional” during the emergency response.

According to the report, Brian did not become visibly emotional until EMS declared Panettiere dead. He also showed police a “bag of medication” that she was taking when she died.

Bryan said he was wearing a body camera throughout the emergency response, although footage from the camera has not been publicly released.

Authorities received a 911 call at around 1:50 pm Sunday regarding a “reported cardiac arrest.”

The Greenville County Coroner’s Office said an acquaintance of Panettiere made the call. Police and EMS personnel responded, and Panettiere was found unresponsive inside the residence.

First responders initiated cardiac life support measures, but resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful. Panettiere was pronounced dead at 2:32 pm.

The Greenville Police Department said the case remains under investigation with the Greenville County Coroner’s Office.

The coroner’s office said an autopsy was completed Monday and that “no signs of trauma were discovered that would have contributed to the death.”

Police also said the preliminary investigation had not indicated any signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances.

Hayden Panettiere’s relationship with Brian Hickerson

Panettiere’s romantic relationship with Brian, an aspiring actor from South Carolina, appeared to end in 2020 amid allegations of domestic violence.

She wrote about some of those experiences in her memoir, 'This Is Me: A Reckoning,' which was published three months before her death.

In the book, Panettiere wrote that Brian beat her so badly one night that she did not leave the house for weeks. She also wrote that she hesitated to report the alleged abuse because she did not want the public to find out.

Brian was arrested on May 2, 2019, based on an allegation of injuring a spouse or girlfriend, according to Los Angeles County criminal court records.

He pleaded no contest on April 20, 2021, and was sentenced the following year to four years’ probation.

Panettiere requested a restraining order against Brian on July 14, 2020. The court docket reviewed by NBC News does not identify the victim in the case, and the outcome of the restraining-order request is unclear from the record.

In 2020, Panettiere said she was going public about the alleged abuse to inspire others in abusive relationships to seek help, adding, “I am prepared to do my part to make sure this man never hurts anyone again.”

Following Panettiere’s death, he also deleted his Instagram account amid backlash over her death. His page previously had 2.8K followers.