Sources say DEA has joined the Hayden Panettiere death investigation

The Drug Enforcement Administration has joined the investigation into the death of actress Hayden Panettiere, according to TMZ and ABC News, both citing unnamed sources. A DEA spokesperson said the agency does not confirm or comment on active investigations. Greenville police and the Greenville County Coroner's Office in South Carolina are running parallel inquiries.

Law enforcement sources involved in the case told TMZ that officers are not satisfied Panettiere's death was an overdose of prescribed medications, and are investigating whether criminal conduct was behind it. Greenville police have made no such statement publicly. Her mother said police told her a narcotics investigator had joined the case.

Panettiere, known for her roles in the 'Scream' films and the television series 'Heroes' and 'Nashville,' died on August 16 at the age of 36. The Greenville County Coroner's Office said first responders answered a 911 call and found her unresponsive and in cardiac arrest at a residence where she had been temporarily staying. Responders initiated advanced cardiac life support measures, but resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful, and she was pronounced dead at 2:32 PM.

From routine inquiry to criminal probe

Greenville police went to the family home of Panettiere's on-again, off-again boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, on the morning of August 19. City officials said the visit was a welfare check unrelated to the death investigation, and that it did not require an incident report. TMZ, which reported the visit, said it appeared officers wanted information from Hickerson. A law enforcement source told the outlet the investigation was opened because Panettiere was only 36 and her death was unexpected.

It leads me to believe they have questions, which of course they all do.

Vogel, who was estranged from her daughter, told NBC News on August 19 that police had told her a narcotics investigator had joined the South Carolina investigation. No police force has confirmed that. She said she planned to speak to lead detectives to understand the circumstances of her daughter's death.

In an earlier interview on August 18, Vogel questioned the timing of the emergency call, which came in the early afternoon on a Sunday, calling it 'not the typical hour of the day that you are partying, generally speaking.' She pointed at Hickerson directly, saying he had 'enabled' her daughter many times and that she and Panettiere's father had long been concerned about his presence in Hayden's life.

What responders found at the scene

Paramedics who reached the apartment after the 911 call were heard mentioning a possible overdose while CPR was in progress, according to TMZ. The outlet was also first to report that Narcan, an over-the-counter overdose treatment, was found inside the apartment, though there has been no confirmation whether it was used on Panettiere. Toxicology testing has not confirmed that any narcotic was in her system.

• Police and EMS responded at 1:51 PM to a report of an unresponsive female
• Panettiere was found in cardiac arrest and pronounced dead at 2:32 PM
• An autopsy found no signs of trauma that would have contributed to the death
• The official cause and manner of death remain pending toxicology results

The Greenville Police Department's first public assessment carried none of that urgency. A spokesperson told Variety on August 17 that the preliminary investigation had not indicated any signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances, and that Panettiere, found unresponsive, was pronounced deceased at the scene. The case was described then as a joint inquiry by the police department and the coroner's office. No federal agency was involved at that stage.

That early reading has since been complicated by reports of the narcotics investigator and the DEA, and by the criminal conduct claim attributed to law enforcement sources. Greenville police have not amended their public statement. Violent Crimes Unit detectives were assigned on the day she died, and a search warrant was executed at the apartment that afternoon. The coroner has not established whether narcotics contributed, saying only that toxicology results are pending.

1. August 15: Panettiere and Hickerson flew from Los Angeles to South Carolina
2. August 16: Police and EMS responded at 1:51 PM; she was pronounced dead at 2:32 PM
3. August 17: Autopsy completed; police report no signs of foul play
4. August 18: Her body was released to her family by the coroner
5. August 19: Narcotics investigator and DEA reported to have joined the case

Sources told TMZ that Panettiere and Hickerson flew from Los Angeles to Greenville on August 15, the day before she died. The couple were last publicly seen together in March 2026. A source confirmed to People magazine that Hickerson was with her when she died.

Hickerson and a documented history of abuse

Hickerson and his brother, Zach, were both at the apartment complex when Panettiere went into cardiac arrest, according to a police incident report. The report noted that Hickerson did not become visibly emotional until EMS declared her dead, and that he showed responding officers a bag of medications she had been taking. Both brothers are listed in the report as witnesses.

Panettiere first spoke publicly about the abuse in 2020, saying she went public to inspire others in abusive relationships to seek help. She detailed incidents from the relationship in her memoir, 'This Is Me: A Reckoning,' published in May 2026.

TMZ reported that Zach Hickerson found Panettiere unresponsive in the apartment. Fox Carolina, citing the incident report, said both brothers were in the apartment and called 911 after finding her. Brian Hickerson has not been named a suspect, and no charges have been filed in connection with the death.

Brian and Zach Hickerson did not immediately respond to requests for comment from NBC News on Monday and Tuesday, the outlet reported.

What investigators have not determined

The cause and manner of Panettiere's death remain undetermined. The autopsy, completed on August 17, found no signs of trauma that would have contributed to the death, coroner Mike Ellis said, but the official findings depend on toxicology and additional studies that have not been completed. Until those results return, investigators cannot say whether narcotics played any part in her death.

The reported DEA involvement is tied to the possible overdose relayed during CPR and to the Narcan found at the scene, according to TMZ. Sources told the outlet that agents are assisting the probe. The DEA has declined to comment, saying it does not confirm or comment on active investigations. TMZ cited one comparable case, the death of Matthew Perry, in which federal agents joined a celebrity death inquiry.

Panettiere's body was released to her family by the Greenville County Coroner on the evening of August 18 and sent to a mortuary. Her father, Skip Panettiere, asked for privacy 'as our family takes time to process this unimaginable loss.' The autopsy had been completed the day before her body was returned.

Her representative confirmed the death to ABC News and called the investigation ongoing. The coroner's office and Greenville police opened a parallel investigation soon after she was found, before the case widened to include the narcotics investigator and federal agents.

A mother's public accusations

Vogel's decision to speak publicly, and to name Hickerson, drew criticism given her estrangement from her daughter. On CBS Mornings, anchor Gayle King criticized the remarks on air, saying they left her thinking 'Thanks, Mom, for nothing.' Panettiere had written about the relationship with her mother in the memoir she published earlier in 2026.

Vogel told NBC News she and Panettiere's father had long tried to remove Hickerson from her daughter's life. 'This person in her life that we have been trying to get rid of for quite some time was with her at her death and that was Brian Hickerson,' she said. She has said she wants answers from investigators about what happened inside the apartment.

No cause of death has been announced, no one has been charged, and Hickerson has not been named a suspect. What began as a case police described as showing no signs of foul play now involves Greenville detectives, the county coroner and, according to TMZ and ABC News, the DEA. The coroner's office has said toxicology results are expected to take about eight weeks. Anyone affected by domestic abuse can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline on 1-800-799-7233. SAMHSA's national helpline, 1-800-662-4357, offers free and confidential help with substance use.