Greenville police have closed their investigation into the death of actress Hayden Panettiere, saying the findings support the coroner’s ruling that it was accidental. The department announced the decision Wednesday. In an email to CNN, it said the case was complete based on the coroner’s determination and the results of its own inquiry. No charges were announced.
Panettiere, 36, died Aug. 16 in Greenville, South Carolina. A 911 call about a cardiac arrest came in at about 1:51 p.m., and she was pronounced dead less than an hour later. Her on-and-off boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, and his brother Zach Hickerson were at the apartment and found her unresponsive on a sofa bed, according to a police report.
The Greenville County Coroner’s Office ruled on Sept. 22 that she died of the toxic effects of several drugs, including fentanyl, and classified the manner of death as accident. The autopsy found no signs of trauma. Police said at the time that their early work showed no indication of foul play.
The investigation continued after that ruling. Police had examined whether Panettiere obtained illicit and possibly counterfeit pills from a dealer in Southern California, and the Drug Enforcement Administration joined the effort. TMZ reported that agents were reviewing years of messages between her and a dealer. A representative for the actress dismissed that account as unverified hearsay. A family publicist described the case in late September as ongoing and complex.
A police spokeswoman declined to say whether any other agency is still pursuing the matter, and CNN’s request to the DEA about the status of its inquiry had not been answered. Whether federal agents will bring a case against a supplier remains unclear.
Panettiere rose to fame as Claire Bennet on NBC’s “Heroes” and later starred in ABC’s “Nashville.” She spoke openly about fame, mental health and addiction, and addressed those struggles in a memoir this year. Her younger brother, actor Jansen Panettiere, died in 2023 at age 28 from a heart condition.
