Questions are mounting over the sudden death of actor Hayden Panettiere, 36, who appeared in the U.S. drama "Heroes" and "Nashville."
According to the New York Times (NYT) on the 19th (local time), Panettiere was with former boyfriend Brian Hickerson, who had assaulted her in the past, when she died on the 16th in Greenville, South Carolina.
A police report shows that one of the last people to see Panettiere before her death was Hickerson. Hickerson and his brother, Zach Hickerson, reportedly called 911 when Panettiere collapsed.
The exact cause of death has not been released, but locally there is speculation of cardiac arrest due to a drug overdose. Police did not allege that Hickerson was connected to Panettiere's death.
However, attention is focusing on Hickerson's history of dating violence. In 2020, Panettiere revealed on ABC's "Good Morning America" that she had been assaulted by Hickerson, then her boyfriend.
In a memoir published in May, she also shared that she was slapped by Hickerson and could not leave the house for weeks, and that he swung his fist during an argument and was arrested by police.
Hickerson was indicted on seven charges, including injuring a girlfriend and witness tampering, and he pleaded guilty to two of them, receiving a probation sentence. The two later broke up but were reportedly back in contact recently.
Panettiere's mother, Lesley Vogel, criticized Hickerson, saying, "The person we tried to keep out of our daughter's life for so long was by her side until she died."
A former child actor, Panettiere rose to fame playing Claire Bennet, who has regenerative abilities, in "Heroes." Recently, through her memoir, she also disclosed a difficult past, including drug addiction, sexual assault, and postpartum depression.