By LAURA PARNABY, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER and BETHAN SEXTON, US ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR<\/p>\n
Published: 19:57 BST, 20 August 2026 | Updated: 20:42 BST, 20 August 2026<\/p>\n
Hayden Panettiere's on-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson has addressed the star's death through his lawyers.<\/p>\n
The statement comes four days after Panettiere, 36, was found unresponsive in a South Carolina apartment.<\/p>\n
'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.<\/p>\n
'As has been publicly reported, police confirmed there were no signs of foul play.<\/p>\n
'Out of respect for Hayden's loved ones and the ongoing investigation, there will be no further comment at this time.'<\/p>\n
Hickerson, 37, was at the apartment where Panettiere died, along with his brother Zach Hickerson, police confirmed on Tuesday.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
'The patient did not seem to have any obvious physical reasons to be unresponsive,' the officer noted.\u00a0After attempting lifesaving measures, the emergency workers declared Panettiere dead at 2:31 pm on Sunday.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
The Greenville County Coroner\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
She first began dating Hickerson in 2018, however, their on-off relationship became tumultuous as he was arrested several times on domestic violence charges.\u00a0<\/p>\n