Hayden Panettiere’s on-again, off-again boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, was allegedly a “terrifying” disturbance to her neighbors.
The star, 36, was found dead in the company of Hickerson and his brother Zack in South Carolina on Sunday, from an apparent “overdose,” according to 911 audio obtained by People. Prior to traveling with Hickerson to his home state last week, the actress wrote extensively about the abuse she suffered at his hands over the course of their relationship in her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning.
Hickerson previously said that “everybody should read” the chapter about his abuse when asked for his reaction by TMZ and has not denied any of the actress’ allegations.
According to Panettiere’s neighbor at a West Hollywood apartment complex, Mia Terzas, the woes continued well beyond the events described in the book. Hickerson was arrested several times for physically abusing Panettiere before her death.
“This predator was in our community,” she told Inside Edition. “He never stopped living at her place. There were times where he ripped apart her bathroom, where he just took a sledgehammer at like 5 in the morning.”
Terzas said she called 911 at least a half dozen times over altercations she would hear coming from the actress’ apartment. Hickerson was so well known for his outbursts that the apartment complex posted warning signs with his photo and banned him from the property. “I was terrified of him, and I have a concealed carry, so that’s saying a lot,” Terzas said.
The neighbor also said she’s witnessed signs that the star had been “injured” while in Hickerson’s presence more than once. “I saw her leave, I think twice, in a gurney, being taken away and didn’t know what was occurring at that time, but she looked to be injured,” she recalled.
Hickerson has not been charged with any crimes in connection to Panettiere’s death, and authorities say there were no signs of foul play at the scene. Still, police visited Hickerson’s home on Wednesday as the investigation unfolds.
“I don’t know what exactly occurred in South Carolina, Terzas said. But she believes, “It just didn’t have to happen.”
