Hayden Panettiere: Ex-boyfriend she accused of violence traveled with her before death

Actress Hayden Panettiere was found dead at her home in South Carolina on Sunday, sending shockwaves through Hollywood. As investigations into the circumstances of her passing continue, details are emerging about her final days, including that her ex-boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, whom she had previously reported for domestic violence, had traveled with her from Los Angeles to South Carolina the day before her death.

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The police confirmed that it was a friend of Panettiere who made the 911 call.

According to People magazine, police confirmed that a friend of Panettiere's made the 911 call, though the caller's identity has not been publicly released. This information is significant as Hickerson was with the actress hours before she died. Emergency services received the call at 1:51 p.m. on Sunday, reporting a woman in cardiac arrest. Paramedics attempted resuscitation, but Panettiere was pronounced dead at 2:32 p.m.

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The emergency services received the notice at 1:51 p.m. on Sunday for a woman in cardiac arrest.

While the official cause of death awaits the autopsy results, the initial emergency call referenced an apparent overdose. Panettiere's relationship with Hickerson, a real estate agent and aspiring actor whom she met in 2018 after separating from Wladimir Klitschko, was reportedly tumultuous. The six-year relationship was marked by multiple breakups and domestic violence incidents, which Panettiere detailed in her 2026 memoir, "This Is Me: A Reckoning."

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Although the official cause of death has not yet been determined and the autopsy results are awaited, the call referenced an apparent overdose.

Hickerson was arrested in May 2019 following a domestic violence incident, leading Panettiere to obtain a restraining order. Although those initial charges were later dropped, the relationship continued, and further violence reportedly occurred. In 2020, Hickerson was arrested again after another incident, after which Panettiere voluntarily entered a treatment center. He was convicted in 2021 for domestic violence, receiving a 45-day jail sentence, four years of probation, and a five-year protective order. Despite this, they reportedly reconnected after his release from prison, with their intermittent relationship continuing until 2022.

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The relationship, which lasted six years, was marked by episodes of violence, several breakups, and a complaint.