The Greenville County Coroner’s Office in South Carolina announced on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, that actor Hayden Panettiere died from an accidental overdose. The report stated the overdose involved multiple substances, including the synthetic opioid fentanyl. Panettiere, 36, was found unresponsive on Aug. 16 in an apartment in Greenville, where she was with her on-and-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother Zach Hickerson.
Paramedics responded to a 911 call at the apartment and performed resuscitation efforts for more than 40 minutes before Panettiere was pronounced dead. According to Coroner Mike Ellis, an autopsy revealed no signs of trauma. Greenville Police confirmed that the investigation into her death remains active.
The coroner’s statement identified a combination of drugs in Panettiere’s system: fentanyl, its chemical byproduct, the anti-anxiety medication alprazolam, a muscle relaxer, and a drug used to treat major depression and other serious mental health disorders. Kasey Kitchen, a publicist for the Panettiere family, stated that the investigation is ongoing and described the case as "complex."
The report provides a cause for a death that occurred one month prior. The involvement of multiple substances, including medications for anxiety and depression, reflects the health struggles Panettiere documented in her May 2026 memoir, "This Is Me." In that book, she detailed her history with alcohol addiction and postpartum depression following the birth of her daughter in 2014. She also wrote of entering rehab while filming the television series "Nashville."
The case also brings renewed attention to the legal history of Brian Hickerson, who was present at the scene. Hickerson previously served jail time and was sentenced to four years of probation after pleading no contest to two felony counts of injuring a spouse or partner in 2020. While the coroner has ruled the death an accident and found no signs of trauma, police said the investigation is continuing. No specific deadlines or hearing dates have been announced regarding the conclusion of the police probe.