Drug Enforcement Agency joins probe into Hayden Panettiere’s death: Sources

DEA Steps Into Investigation of Hayden Panettiere’s Fatal Cardiac Event

Tyunews.com – According to people familiar with the matter, the Drug Enforcement Administration has entered the case surrounding the death of actress Hayden Panettiere. While the Greenville City Police Department in South Carolina retains primary jurisdiction, federal agents from the DEA are now lending support to the ongoing inquiry. ABC News contacted Panettiere’s representatives seeking comment but had not received a response as of publication.

What the Scene Report Reveals

The federal agency’s involvement surfaced roughly a day after Greenville police made public a detailed account of what transpired at a private home on Easley Bridge Road in Greenville, where Panettiere was pronounced dead on Sunday. She was 36 years old.

Per the report, a responding officer arrived at the residence after being dispatched to provide an EMS assist for an unresponsive person. The officer noted that Panettiere was in the company of her on-again, off-again partner, Brian Hickerson, along with his brother Zack Hickerson, at the time of the incident.

The report indicated that whether Panettiere had consumed drugs or alcohol before dying remained undetermined. However, the officer recorded that Hickerson had displayed a bag containing the medications Panettiere had been taking. Additional officials arrived to aid the investigation, and the county coroner was present on scene to carry out their own examination.

Coroner: Cause of Death Still Undetermined

In a Monday press release, the coroner’s office stated that Panettiere’s official cause and manner of death

“remain pending further investigation and the completion of additional studies.”

A Career Spanning Two Decades

Panettiere built her public profile beginning in childhood, later appearing in films and television series including Ice Princess, Heroes, Nashville, Remember the Titans, Raising Helen, and multiple entries in the Scream franchise.

In May of this year she published a memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, described in its synopsis as offering “a rare and intimate glimpse into her life behind closed doors, opening up about postpartum depression, addiction and recovery, trauma, domestic abuse, and loss.” Long before that book, she had spoken openly about navigating the transition from child stardom into adulthood.

Survived by Daughter

Panettiere leaves behind her daughter Kaya, whom she had with former fiancé Wladimir Klitschko. Tributes poured in from across Hollywood following the news of her passing.