Hayden Panettiere's cause of death remains pending, but new details reveal her ex Brian Hickerson gave her Narcan when she was found unconscious, while a judge separately denied his request to clear his 2020 domestic violence record.
The Ice Princess star died on August 16 in South Carolina after traveling with her ex, Brian Hickerson. His brother, Zach, who was also with the pair, said Brian “gave her Narcan” after she was found unconscious.
Zach decided to speak out to end “the speculation and sensationalism” around her death, which is still under investigation. He gave TMZ a detailed account of the day's events, explaining he had gone to church that morning before lunch plans with Panettiere and Brian.
When he didn't hear back from them, Zach went to their Airbnb. “I just assumed maybe they fell back asleep, so I drove over and went to the Airbnb,” he said. “When I got there, I knew the code to the building but not the door code to the AirBnb. I knocked loudly, which apparently woke Brian up from a nap they were both taking on the pull-out couch bed in the living room. When we went in and tried to wake Hayden up for lunch, we realized she was unconscious.”
Zach said he called 911 while Brian “gave her Narcan.” He added, “We then jointly performed CPR while 911 was on speaker until Fire and EMS arrived. At that point, we watched as they tried every measure possible to save her life.”
Zach also said he is “beyond heartbroken and devastated by this tragic and traumatic loss,” adding, “Hayden was one of my dearest and closest friends that I loved and cared about for the last 8 years.”
He said he wanted to clarify his involvement “in effort to keep the focus on the fact that we lost one of the most precious individuals on this earth and to allow those that cared about her to mourn without additional noise, chaos, and misinformation being created and propagated by the media as well as the public.”
Separately, Hickerson got called out in a Los Angeles courtroom for looking "quite high" during a recent TMZ interview in May. Because of this, the judge said no to his request to clear his record.
Hickerson had asked the court to erase his 2020 domestic violence case, where he beat his then-girlfriend Panettiere. A judge looked at this request on August 13, just three days before Hayden died. Hickerson and his lawyer didn't show up to court, but the District Attorney had a lot to say.
The prosecutor pointed out that Hickerson was arrested a year ago for being high at a restaurant in West Hollywood. The District Attorney then brought up an interview Hickerson did with TMZ, saying, "There is a documented interview where he speaks for 15 minutes about the abuse that's been documented in his victim's best-selling book, and he makes several admissions about that."
The DA added, "And more significantly to his request today, he is quite high on what appears to be a stimulant, notwithstanding his lawyer's representations that he is seeking expungement because he is now sober." The DA went on to say, "He is very -- very clearly not sober," referring to his appearance in the Neff interview. The judge denied the petition.
Khushi Arora is a Content Producer at Hindustan Times, where she writes for the US Desk, covering everything happening in the United States, while maintaining quality and delivering impactful stories across all beats. She previously worked at Zee News for over a year where she explored multiple beats including News Desk, Education and Lifestyle. With a background in English Literature, Khushi blends sharp research with thoughtful storytelling, shaping stories that go beyond headlines and bring clarity and credibility to every piece she writes. Beyond the newsroom, she enjoys reading, watching cinema and loves having long conversations about books, films and everything in between.Read More
