Greenville, S.C. — Panettiere Death Ruled Accidental Overdose

The Greenville County Coroner's Office ruled Tuesday that actor Hayden Panettiere died by accident, listing the cause as the toxic effects of five drugs — fentanyl, 4-ANPP, alprazolam, methocarbamol and quetiapine, according to NBC News. The coroner's office said there were no signs of trauma that contributed to her death.

Panettiere, 36, best known for playing cheerleader Claire Bennet on "Heroes" and singer Juliette Barnes on "Nashville," was found unresponsive on Aug. 16 at a South Carolina apartment complex where she had been staying, NBC News reported. Authorities arrived after a report of cardiac arrest. The Greenville Police Department said its initial response and investigation turned up no signs of foul play.

What did police find at the scene?

According to the police report cited by NBC News, Panettiere's on-again, off-again boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, was at the apartment complex when she died and showed responding authorities a "bag of medication" he said she had been taking. An attorney for Hickerson did not immediately respond to NBC News' request for comment. Panettiere's mother, Lesley Vogel, also did not immediately respond to the outlet's request for comment.

Hickerson, an aspiring actor from South Carolina, and Panettiere appeared to have ended their relationship in 2020 amid allegations of domestic violence, but Vogel told NBC News the two were still seeing each other.

Is the DEA investigating the death?

The Drug Enforcement Administration is also looking into Panettiere's death, NBC News reported. Bill Bodner, a 32-year veteran of the DEA's Los Angeles field office who has investigated the overdose deaths of Michael Jackson, Matthew Perry and other celebrities, told NBC News last month that agents were likely working to reconstruct Panettiere's final days.

"They will use forensics to exploit her telephone, try to re-create the last two or three days of her life from looking at text messages, looking at phone calls, looking at interaction with people on social media," Bodner said. "Once there's a timeline of what she was doing before her death, it becomes easier to kind of find where that drug distribution took place that killed her," he added.

What drugs were found in her system?

The coroner's ruling names five substances contributing to the toxic effects that caused death: fentanyl, the fentanyl precursor/analog 4-ANPP, the anti-anxiety medication alprazolam, the muscle relaxant methocarbamol, and the antipsychotic quetiapine. The office did not release additional detail on dosages or a timeline of ingestion in the material reviewed.

What to watch

• Whether the DEA's investigation identifies a source for the fentanyl found in Panettiere's system.
• Whether Hickerson's attorney responds publicly to the coroner's ruling or the police report describing the medication found at the scene.
• Any statement from Panettiere's family following the official cause-of-death ruling.
• Whether Greenville police reopen or expand their review given the coroner's findings, despite the initial determination of no foul play.

The originating report is available from NBC News.