Hayden Panettiere’s Final Moments Revealed by Ex’s Brother

More details about the moments leading up to actress Hayden Panettiere’s death at 36 on Sunday have been revealed by the brother of the late star’s ex, who was on the scene.

Panettiere had traveled to South Carolina from Los Angeles with her on-again-off-again boyfriend Brian Hickerson just a day before she died at a luxury loft complex. Hickerson, who was in the loft with his brother Zach when EMS failed to revive her from a suspected overdose, was arrested multiple times for physically abusing the actress between 2018 and 2020.

Brian Hickerson broke his silence on Thursday through his lawyer, who told TMZ, “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.”

Zach pulled back the curtain further on Friday, however. “The truth will come out as the authorities complete and release additional details from the investigation,” the brother said in the statement, which omits his brother Brian’s past abuses of Panettiere. Brian Hickerson’s latest attempt to have his domestic abuse felony removed from his record was thwarted by a judge just days before he and the actresses traveled together to South Carolina.

Hickerson went on, “I want to clarify my involvement in an effort to keep the focus on the fact that we lost one of the most precious individuals on this earth.”

“On Sunday morning, I woke up at my Airbnb, got dressed and went to Church. I exchanged messages that morning with Brian on my way. We planned on us all getting lunch and playing indoor golf after the service,” he said, explaining that he arrived at the Airbnb, where he “woke Brian up from a nap they were both taking on the pull-out couch bed in the living room” by “knocking loudly.”

“When we went in and tried to wake Hayden up for lunch, we realized she was unconscious,” he said. Hickerson said that his brother administered Narcan, the nasal medication used to address the effects of an overdose, as he “immediately called 911.”

“We then jointly performed CPR while 911 was on speaker until Fire and EMS arrived,” he added. “At that point, we watched as they tried every measure possible to save her life.”

A source who recounted a similar account to Zach’s told the Daily Mail on Tuesday, “An officer at the scene said Zach was ‘very emotional’ as he saw paramedics perform CPR. Brian did not appear to show emotion until Hayden was declared dead.”

Zach Hickerson ended his statement, “I am beyond heartbroken and devastated by this tragic and traumatic loss. Hayden was one of my dearest and closest friends that I loved and cared about for the last 8 years. Out of respect for her loved ones, the speculation and sensationalism of her death needs to end until the facts can be released from the investigation.”

The account comes after Brian Hickerson’s prior treatment of the actress casts suspicion over his role in the Nashville star’s death. Panettiere wrote in depth about the abuse she suffered over the course of their relationship in her book, This Is Me: A Reckoning. “The slaps become hits,” she wrote in a chapter dedicated to the relationship, until he “busts up my face so badly I don’t leave the house for weeks.”

According to one of the star’s West Hollywood neighbors, Hickerson’s behavior was so “terrifying” that he was banned from her apartment complex.

Following his second arrest for abusing her in 2020, the star was granted a five-year restraining order. Hickerson, who pleaded no contest to two felony counts of injuring a spouse or girlfriend, was sentenced to 45 days in county jail, four years of formal probation, and mandatory classes.

The pair appeared to rekindle their attachment, with Panettiere telling People in 2022, “He’s gone to treatment and done his time. And I’m trying to live in a place of forgiveness.”

Hickerson has not denied her account and told TMZ that “everybody” should read Panettiere’s chapter about his abuse.