Hayden Panettiere Previously Overdosed, Secretly Entered Rehab Weeks Before Death

Actor Hayden Panettiere died from an accidental drug overdose that included fentanyl, a South Carolina coroner confirmed Tuesday.

via: Page Six

Hayden Panettiere allegedly previously overdosed and secretly entered rehab weeks before her drug-related death at an Airbnb in Greenville, South Carolina, on Aug. 16.

On Wednesday, Page Six obtained a more detailed report by the Greenville County Coroner’s Office, which stated that either Brian or Zach Hickerson (the name was redacted) claimed Panettiere had “a long history of drug, alcohol and nitrous oxide abuse” and that he “has had to administer Narcan to the decedent before.”

Narcan is an emergency medication used to reverse opioid overdoses.

The same brother insisted he was “unaware of the decedent using any illegal substances yesterday or today but stated that she was very good at hiding them.”

One of the two Hickersons also said the actress “was in a drug rehab facility in Malibu, California, up until a few weeks ago.”

According to the report, Panettiere’s father, Skip Panettiere, confirmed his daughter “had recently been released [from] rehab” in “Malibu.” He said she spent “two or three weeks” at the treatment facility.

Skip explained Hayden “struggled with addiction since her early 20s and [had] been in multiple rehab facilities since that time.”

He also noted his daughter “suffered from postpartum depression after the birth of her daughter,” Kaya, 11, and said her “addiction issues … escalated since then.”

The grieving dad — who also lost his son, Jansen Panettiere, in February 2023 — made sure to stress that Hayden’s relationship with on-off boyfriend Brian, 37, had been “nothing but troubled.”

According to the report, Skip was adamant about not wanting “any of the decedent’s personal property left with [Brian] or [Zach].” Both Skip and Hayden’s estranged mother, Lesley Vogel, requested her belongings. The exes were notified they had to reach an agreement before the items could be released.

The newly released findings by the coroner’s office, which TMZ was first to report, included previously unknown details about the day the “Heroes” star died at age 36.

“A small clear plastic bag of a white powdery substance in a suitcase belonging to the decendent inside of a gray sunglasses case” was discovered on the scene, as was “a cut straw with residue … inside of a small blue-colored makeup-type bag … inside [a] black bookbag/purse belonging to the decendent.”

Also located inside the apartment was “a medication bottle labeled as Adderall to the decendent on the kitchen table that contained a small clear plastic bag with blue-colored tablets that appeared to possibly be pressed pills and a cut straw.”

Per the report, the pills and straws later tested positive for fentanyl.

Investigators also found “multiple prescription bottles on the kitchen table and a small teal blue-colored lunchbox with glass vials [as well as] prefilled and empty syringes located in the refrigerator.”

The coroner determined Hayden’s death was an “accident” caused by “the toxic effects of fentanyl, 4-ANPP, alprazolam, methocarbamol and quetiapine.”

Naloxone and cotinine were also detected in her system, according to the results of the toxicology.

It was previously know that Brian and Hayden had flown to Greenville from Los Angeles the day before she died. He told responding officers he went to sleep in the bedroom and that Hayden fell asleep in the living room.

According to the new report, Brian said he woke up around 10 or 10:30 a.m. on Sunday and saw the “Nashville” star applying her makeup in the bathroom.

They “ate cereal together” before Brian allegedly “fell back asleep” in the bedroom. He said he woke back up later that afternoon after hearing his brother knock on the front door. The trio had plans to go out to lunch, per the report.

One of the two Hickerson boys (the name was redacted) said he then went to go wake up Hayden, who was “sitting crisscross applesauce, face down and unresponsive on the sofa bed.” She was also “purple in color.”

He stated that “it is not uncommon for the decendent to fall asleep in that position” and claimed he twice administered nasal Narcan “without success.”

The siblings then called 911 and began CPR, which they continued until emergency medical services arrived.

Responding EMS personnel tried for approximately 30 minutes to revive Hayden, but she was not able to regain cardiac activity and was pronounced dead just after 2:30 p.m.

If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).