Actress Hayden Panettiere’s death was ruled to be an accidental overdose on Tuesday.
The Greenville County, South Carolina, Coroner’s office ruled her death as toxic effects of fentanyl, 4-ANPP, Alprazolam, Methocarbamol and Quetiapine, per People. The actress’s death was ruled to be an accident.
Panettiere, best known for starring roles in “Nashville” and “Heroes,” was discovered dead in her apartment on August 16 at the age of 36.
“On August 16, 2026, at approximately 1:51 PM, a 911 call was received regarding a reported cardiac arrest at 701 Easley Bridge Road in Greenville. First responders and Emergency Medical Services arrived on scene and located a female in cardiac arrest. EMS personnel initiated advanced cardiac life support measures; however, resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful, and the individual was pronounced deceased at 2:32 PM,” the coroner’s office statement said.
“The Greenville County Coroner’s Office responded to the scene and initiated a parallel investigation with the Greenville City Police Department. The decedent has been identified as Hayden Leslie Panettiere, 36, of California. Panettiere was found unresponsive inside the residence, where she had been temporarily staying. An autopsy was completed by a board-certified forensic pathologist. At autopsy, no signs of trauma were discovered that would have contributed to the death.”
The publicist for Panettiere’s family responded to the coroner’s report, telling the Associated Press that “the investigation is still ongoing and the case is complex.”
The coroner’s report comes after multiple law enforcement sources told TMZ that Panettiere had a longtime drug dealer in Los Angeles who allegedly supplied her with black-market prescription drugs, including oxycodone. Investigators believe Panettiere took several drugs obtained from the dealer during her flight from Los Angeles to South Carolina the day before her death. They suggested at the time that one pill she took the following morning was an oxycodone pill laced with fentanyl, as The Daily Wire previously reported.
Panettiere was discovered unconscious by her boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother Zach Hickerson. Zach said he was returning from a church service to meet up with Panettiere and Brian for lunch. When he knocked on the door, his brother woke up, and they found Panettiere unconscious. Brian immediately administered Narcan, a medication used to reverse opioid overdoses, while Zach called 911, he said. The brothers then performed CPR together while remaining on the phone with 911 dispatchers, but Panettiere could not be revived.
Brian, the actress’ on-again-off-again boyfriend, reportedly met with DEA investigators as part of the ongoing probe. Police documents previously indicated that Panettiere had a “bag of medication” containing nine different substances, though the specific medications were redacted.
The DEA has been involved in the case since the early days of the investigation in the hopes of bringing down her dealer in the same way that the dealers who provided deadly doses to “Friends” actor Matthew Perry and rapper Mac Miller were brought to justice.
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