Inside Hayden Panettiere's Final Day: Hours Before Trouble Ex-Boyfriend Brian Hickerson Discovered Actress 'Face Down in a Sitting Position'
Hayden Panettiere's final day began with her putting on makeup.
Sept. 23 2026, Published 7:20 p.m. ET
New details about the death of Hayden Panettiere reveal her last day started out innocently enough, RadarOnline.com can share.
According to the final coroner's report, the 36-year-old was seen "putting on makeup" on Sunday morning, August 16, in a Greenville, South Carolina Airbnb, where she was preparing to celebrate her upcoming birthday with her on-and-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson.
Hayden Panettiere Traveled to South Carolina to Celebrate Her Birthday
The actress was found dead of a drug overdose.
Just a few hours later, Brian and his brother, Zach, would find her lifeless body in the living room.
After interviewing the star's friends and family, a report from the Greenville County Coroner's Office has concluded that Panettiere died of an accidental drug overdose.
According to the report, the Nashville actress had flown to Greenville from Los Angeles the day before her death and was staying with Brian and Zach at the Judson Mill Lofts apartment through an Airbnb rental.
That Sunday, Zach reportedly told detectives he woke up early to head to church. On his way out, he saw Panettiere applying makeup at 10:30 AM. It would be the last time he would see her alive.
Hayden Panettiere Had Turned a 'Deep Purple'
Panettiere was in Greenville, South Carolina, to celebrate her birthday.
In a statement, Zach said that when he later left church, he texted both his brother and Panettiere. He didn't hear back from them and drove back to the apartment.
He apparently knew the building code but not the Airbnb code, so he knocked on the door.
"I knocked loudly, which apparently woke Brian up from a nap they were both taking on the pull-out couch bed in the living room," Hickerson said in the statement to TMZ.
When they went to wake Panettiere up for lunch, the brothers "discovered Hayden face down in a sitting position on a sofa bed with her legs crossed," according to the report. The siblings also noticed Hayden had turned deep purple.
Zach said he immediately called 911, while Brian gave her Narcan. They jointly performed CPR while 911 was on speakerphone until Fire and EMS personnel arrived, according to his statement.
Hayden Panettiere Died From a Lethal Combination of Drugs
Her ex-boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, scrambled to try to save her.
According to the coroner's report, a redacted name that is assumed to be Brian was unaware of her using any illegal substances the day of her death or the day before, but admitted she was "very good at hiding them."
The report said Panettiere was in a drug rehab facility in Malibu, California, up until a few weeks ago.
As Radar reported, Panettiere died from a lethal combination of five different drugs.
In the statement, the medical examiner said the actress had a combination of fentanyl, the anti-anxiety medication alprazolam, also known as Xanax, Methocarbamol, which is used to treat "the discomfort caused by acute (short-term), painful muscle or bone conditions," according to the Mayo Clinic, and Quetiapine, which treats schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression.
The coroner's report also reveals that investigators found blue pressed pills that tested positive for fentanyl, along with a straw on a table and white powder in a sunglasses case inside her suitcase.
Prescription bottles were found on the kitchen table, while a small teal lunchbox containing glass vials and prefilled and empty syringes was found inside the refrigerator, the report stated.
The Investigation Into Hayden Panettiere's Death Is 'Ongoing'
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Police have confirmed the investigation into Panettiere's death will continue.
In a statement released after the report was made public, Greenville police said detectives are continuing to pursue leads and gather evidence as they work to determine what happened.
"The Coroner's Office report represents one component of the ongoing investigation," the department said. "Our detectives will continue to follow leads and gather information as we work toward resolving this case."
However, officials clarified that for now, no additional details are being released.
