Actress Hayden Panettiere filed a petition detailing severe abuse by her on-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson years before she was found dead from a suspected overdose in South Carolina on Sunday.
The 36 year old actress stated in a 2020 court document obtained by the Daily Mail that Hickerson's behavior escalated "when alcohol is involved," claiming he "pulls my hair, swings me around and hits me, spits in my face."
She also reported that Hickerson, 37, "has dumped water over me while I'm in bed" and "thrown objects at my face" during their relationship, which began in 2018.
Panettiere was discovered unresponsive and in "cardiac arrest" at a Greenville apartment block, according to a 911 call recording. The Greenville County Coroner's Office stated her cause of death remains under investigation.
Overdose response and police report
Hickerson was at the apartment with his brother, Zach Hickerson, when the actress was pronounced dead, a heavily redacted police report obtained by the Daily Mail revealed. An officer at the scene noted Zach was "very emotional" amid the distressing scene, but Brian Hickerson showed no emotion until Panettiere was declared dead.
The police report read that Hickerson allegedly showed officers a "bag of medication" Panettiere had been taking. In a Friday statement to TMZ, Zach claimed he called 911 while his brother administered Narcan, a nasal spray used to reverse opioid overdoses.
Hickerson released a statement through his attorney Sloan Ellis, of the Ellis Hinton law firm, four days after Panettiere's death.
"Hayden's death remains under investigation and it is important to allow that investigation to proceed," the statement read. "As has been publicly reported, police confirmed there were no signs of foul play. Out of respect for Hayden's loved ones and the ongoing investigation, there will be no further comment at this time."
History of domestic violence charges
Panettiere filed her original petition for a temporary protection order in a Teton County court in Wyoming on February 17, 2020. The filing came days after Hickerson was arrested for domestic battery, a misdemeanor in the state, on Valentine's Day.
A Teton County police officer had responded to a domestic dispute at an Airbnb residence where the couple was staying on February 14. The incident report stated Hickerson "started throwing Panettiere around" and "struck Panettiere with a closed fist on the right side of her face."
The officer described the actress's face as "red and swollen," noting a "fresh scrape and swelling on the top of her left hand." Hickerson pleaded not guilty to the domestic battery charge in April 2020.
Panettiere subsequently filed an out-of-state protective order in California, where the couple lived, in July 2020. She asked the Superior Court of California to uphold the Wyoming petition.
Los Angeles arrest and testimony
Hickerson had previously been arrested in Los Angeles in May 2019, just one year into their dating. He was charged with felony domestic violence and released on a $50,000 bond, pleading not guilty to one count.
During a July 2019 preliminary hearing in Los Angeles Superior Court, a police officer testified to finding Panettiere "bruised and swollen" in an upstairs bedroom after responding to the May 2 incident.
The officer reported Panettiere had "bruising on her eyelids," "a swollen face," "bruising on both her arms" and marks on the "left side" of her neck.
According to the officer, Panettiere said they had been drinking earlier that night at Cabo Cantina in Hollywood before returning home, where Hickerson "allegedly struck her three times on the face with an open palm," causing her nose to bleed.
She told police she went to the upstairs bedroom to sleep, but Hickerson got "on top of her and grabbed her face." The officer noted Panettiere's responses during questioning were "jumping around" but she "did understand the questions and readily provided answers" when asked if she appeared intoxicated.
The officer also testified that Panettiere claimed Hickerson "harmed her" in Puerto Rico the previous day, which is where she allegedly "sustained the bruises on her arms."
Hickerson's attorney requested the felony charge be dismissed, arguing there was a "mutual combat between two parties." A judge denied the motion, but the case was ultimately dismissed at the end of September 2019.
Later convictions and personal struggles
Hickerson, an aspiring actor and real estate agent, was later charged with seven felony counts, including assault, injuring a girlfriend and dissuading a witness from prosecuting a crime, alongside misdemeanor battery relating to domestic violence.
He pleaded no contest to two felony counts of injuring Panettiere in April 2021. He received a sentence of 45 days in jail, four years of probation, $500 in fines and mandatory domestic violence classes.
Panettiere, who would have turned 37 on Friday, soared to fame in the television shows "Heroes" and "Nashville" while enduring struggles with depression and alcohol addiction.
She welcomed a daughter, Kaya, with Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko in December 2014, but made the difficult decision to relinquish full custody in 2018 amid struggles with postpartum depression and addiction to opioids and drinking.
She entered a treatment center in 2020 for an eight month rehab stint, telling the New York Times in 2023 that her sobriety journey was an "everyday battle." The status of her sobriety on the day she died remains unclear.
The actress had most recently opened up about her troubled childhood, substance abuse, postpartum depression and her tumultuous relationship with Hickerson in her memoir, "This is Me: A Reckoning", published three months before her death. She was pictured at a book signing for the memoir in May 2026.
