By LAURA PARNABY, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER and BETHAN SEXTON, US ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
Published: 19:57 BST, 20 August 2026 | Updated: 20:42 BST, 20 August 2026
Hayden Panettiere's on-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson has addressed the star's death through his lawyers.
The statement comes four days after Panettiere, 36, was found unresponsive in a South Carolina apartment.
'Hayden's death remains under investigation and it is important to allow that investigation to proceed,' said Hickerson's attorney Sloan Ellis, from the Ellis Hinton law firm.
'As has been publicly reported, police confirmed there were no signs of foul play.
'Out of respect for Hayden's loved ones and the ongoing investigation, there will be no further comment at this time.'
Hickerson, 37, was at the apartment where Panettiere died, along with his brother Zach Hickerson, police confirmed on Tuesday.
A Greenville police officer who responded to the residence Sunday afternoon was met by the brothers and then observed paramedics performing CPR on an unresponsive woman, according to a police report.
'The patient did not seem to have any obvious physical reasons to be unresponsive,' the officer noted. After attempting lifesaving measures, the emergency workers declared Panettiere dead at 2:31 pm on Sunday.
Hayden Panettiere's on-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson has addressed the star's death through his lawyers. Panettiere is pictured with Hickerson in Los Angeles on December 1, 2018
The Greenville County Coroner’s Office has said Panettiere's cause of death remains under investigation, however a dispatcher said she had a 'cardiac arrest' during a 911 call from her apartment.
The dispatcher could be heard in the audio saying that Panettiere had suffered a suspected overdose, and sources told TMZ that Narcan – a nasal medication used to treat an opioid overdose – was also found on a mattress at the property.
Panettiere, who soared to fame in the TV shows 'Heroes' and 'Nashville' while enduring struggles with alcohol addiction and depression, would have turned 37 on Friday.
She first began dating Hickerson in 2018, however, their on-off relationship became tumultuous as he was arrested several times on domestic violence charges.