Hayden Panettiere died from accidental overdose involving fentanyl, coroner says
by: JEFFREY COLLINS, Associated Press Posted: Sep 22, 2026 / 11:31 AM EDT Updated: Sep 22, 2026 / 11:32 AM EDT Actor Hayden Panettiere died from an accidental overdose of several drugs, including fentanyl, a coroner in South Carolina said Tuesday. Panettiere, 36, was found unresponsive in an apartment in Greenville, South Carolina, on Aug. Her on-and-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother Zach Hickerson were at the home. According to a statement from the Greenville County Coroner’s Office, a combination of fentanyl and its chemical byproduct, as well as the anti-anxiety medication alprazolam, a muscle relaxer and a drug used to treat major depression and other serious mental health disorders, was found in Panettiere’s system.
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He was charged in 2020 with multiple counts of felony abuse, and he pleaded no contest to two counts of injuring a spouse or partner and served a short time in jail due to the case. By 2015, Panettiere was playing a brash country upstart opposite Connie Britton on “Nashville,” which aired on ABC for four seasons before being canceled and revived on CMT.
