Actress Hayden Panettiere died last month after taking a single pill believed to have been oxycodone laced with fentanyl, according to multiple law enforcement sources cited in a TMZ report published Monday, as investigators work to trace the fatal dose back to the dealer who supplied it.
Panettiere, best known for her role in the television series “Heroes” and for “Scream 4,” was 36 when she died on 16 August at an apartment complex in Greenville, days before what would have been her 37th birthday. Her official cause of death has not yet been released, and toxicology results are not expected for several weeks.
Hayden Panettiere: What Do Investigators Believe Killed Hayden Panettiere?
Sources connected to the case, cited in the report, said Panettiere is believed to have taken an oxycodone pill on the morning she died and that the pill was laced with fentanyl, an opioid many times more potent than heroin. She is also understood to have taken other drugs the previous day, after flying from Los Angeles to South Carolina. Investigators have not disclosed how many substances were found at the scene, though officers who responded to the apartment reported being given a bag of medication by Panettiere’s boyfriend.
Hayden Panettiere: Who Provided The Fatal Pill?
According to the sources, Panettiere had a “long time drug dealer” based in Los Angeles who had been supplying her with black-market prescription medication, including oxycodone, for some time before her death. Drug Enforcement Administration agents in both Los Angeles and South Carolina are now examining that relationship in an effort to establish whether the pill she took can be traced directly to him. No arrests have been announced, and officials have not named a suspect publicly.
Hayden Panettiere: What Happened In The Hours Before Her Death?
Panettiere’s on-and-off boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, and his brother were at the apartment when she was found unresponsive. A 911 dispatch call obtained by other outlets referenced possible cardiac arrest and a suspected overdose, and Hickerson is reported to have administered naloxone, an overdose-reversal medication, before paramedics arrived. Paramedics were unable to revive her. A police report from the scene, portions of which have been made public, described Hickerson’s brother as visibly distressed while emergency crews worked on Panettiere.
Hayden Panettiere: What Has Panettiere Said About Her Struggles With Addiction?
Panettiere had spoken openly about substance use in her memoir, “This Is Me: A Reckoning,” published in May, in which she described being offered what she called “happy pills” by someone on her team as a teenager before a red-carpet appearance. She also wrote about being told her liver was failing as a result of drinking, recalling being warned by a doctor: “Doctors told me my liver was going to give out.” In the book, she also wrote candidly about her relationship with Hickerson, including a period in which he was jailed following a prior case, and her decision to try to rebuild trust with him afterwards.
Hayden Panettiere: What Happens Next In The Investigation?
With toxicology results still pending, investigators say the priority is establishing the exact chain that put a fentanyl-contaminated pill in Panettiere’s possession. Cases of this kind have increasingly led to criminal charges against suppliers in the United States in recent years, including one high-profile prosecution involving the death of musician Mac Miller, where a dealer was later convicted over the supply of fentanyl-laced drugs. Authorities have given no timeline for when the investigation into Panettiere’s death might conclude.
