Investigation into Hayden Panettiere’s Death Focuses on Los Angeles

Federal authorities are expanding their investigation into the death of actor Hayden Panettiere to Los Angeles. Officials are examining if she obtained nonprescription pills from a local vendor. Several individuals have been interviewed by Drug Enforcement Administration agents and local law enforcement regarding her death on August 16. Sources suggest Panettiere consumed counterfeit oxycodone before her passing in a Greenville, South Carolina apartment.

These counterfeit pills are often mixed with fentanyl, posing a lethal risk in small doses. The case follows similar investigations into the deaths of actor Matthew Perry and rapper Mac Miller, both of which led to legal action against their drug suppliers.

TMZ reported investigators hypothesize that Panettiere consumed a fentanyl-laced pill. However, the Greenville County coroner clarified that toxicology results are pending and a definitive cause of death has not been confirmed.

Paramedics discovered Panettiere in cardiac arrest, as noted by the coroner’s office. Dispatch recordings referenced a possible overdose, and efforts to perform CPR were underway. Narcan was administered with attempts to revive her, though she was pronounced dead at 2:31 p.m.

Her boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, a Greenville resident, provided investigators with a bag of medications. According to Hickerson’s attorney, Sloan Ellis, the investigation continues without indications of foul play, and further comments will be reserved to respect those involved.

In cases related to Perry and Miller, authorities successfully charged and convicted those involved in supplying deadly drugs. Perry’s death, for instance, involved several guilty pleas from individuals providing ketamine and fentanyl-laced substances.