The man Hayden Panettiere described in her memoir as her former partner and abuser, Brian Hickerson, was with her in the apartment where she died Sunday, according to a police report, and it was he and his brother who called 911.
The incident report from Greenville, South Carolina, police is heavily redacted but sheds new light on the circumstances surrounding the death of the 36-year-old actor best known for roles in “Heroes” and “Nashville.”
Authorities have not released a cause of death but said a preliminary investigation showed no signs of trauma or foul play. Hickerson has not been accused of being involved in Panettiere’s death. The former child actor was in cardiac arrest before she died, according to the Greenville County Coroner’s office.
Tuesday’s report details how an officer arrived at the apartment in Greenville following a request from first responders, who had been working to save Panettiere’s life for an “extended period of time.”
Brian Hickerson and his brother, Zach, told police they had called 911. Brian Hickerson showed police medication Panettiere had been taking and became “very emotional” after she was declared dead, the report stated.
Panettiere dated Hickerson from 2018 to 2022 in a tumultuous relationship that resulted in her obtaining a protective order against him. Los Angeles County records show he pleaded no contest to two counts of domestic violence in April 2021 and was sentenced to four years’ probation, including the requirement to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and anger management sessions.
An attorney for Hickerson did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Wednesday.
Panettiere described their relationship as physically abusive in her memoir, “This Is Me: A Reckoning,” which came out in May. After its release, Hickerson said it was important for people, especially abusers, to read it.
Speaking to TMZ around the time of the book’s release, Hickerson said the pair now had “mutual respect” for each other. “She’ll always hold a special place in my heart, and, you know, I hope the same for her. … We’re just good buddies,” he said, adding that had been attending Alcoholics Anonymous and therapy.
Asked whether he could see the former couple rekindling their romance, Hickerson said they “probably wouldn’t be good together” but praised her as one of the “most talented people I’ve ever met in my life.”
The book also detailed her life in the spotlight, her struggle with substance abuse and her experience with postpartum depression after the birth of her daughter, Kaya, with Wladimir Klitschko in 2014.
Klitschko, a Ukrainian heavyweight fighter, and Panettiere were in an on-and-off relationship from 2009 to 2018.
Panettiere granted Klitschko full-time custody of their daughter in Ukraine in 2018, when Kaya was 2. The actor has said she was struggling with addiction at the time.
In a statement on Tuesday, Klitschko said his family was “going through a time of profound shock and grief.”
“The announcement of Hayden’s tragic death saddens me deeply. She left this world far too soon,” he wrote on Instagram.
“She built an incredible career through immense talent, while also facing the darker sides of a very demanding industry. Nothing will erase the times we shared or the place she had in our lives.”
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