More details are emerging about the final days leading up to the passing of Hayden Panettiere.
The “Heroes” star was just 36 when she was found unresponsive on August 16 in Greenville, South Carolina.
On September 22, the Greenville County Coroner’s Office confirmed to Page Six that the actress died from an accidental overdose of multiple substances, including fentanyl, 4-ANPP, alprazolam, methocarbamol and quetiapine.
She’d Checked Into a Malibu Rehab Facility
On Wednesday, Page Six obtained a more detailed report from the coroner’s office that provided more information about the weeks leading up to her tragic passing.
In that report, a redacted name — which Page Six indicated was either Panettiere’s boyfriend Brian Hickerson or his brother Zach — told authorities that Panettiere “was in a drug rehab facility in Malibu, California, up until a few weeks ago.”
In addition, one of the brothers also alleged that the actress “has a long history of drug, alcohol and nitrous oxide abuse” and that he “has had to administer Narcan to the decedent before.”
Narcan is a medication used in emergency situations to reverse an accidental opioid overdose.
That report also indicated that Panettiere’s father, Skip Panettiere, had confirmed that she “had recently been released [from] rehab in “Malibu.” He told authorities that she’d spent “two or three weeks” at the unnamed facility.
Skip corroborated the claim she his daughter “has struggled with addiction since her early 20s and has been in multiple rehab facilities since that time.”
He also stated that her on-and-off-relationship with Brian Hickerson “has been nothing but troubled.”
Struggles with Postpartum Depression
In the report, Skip Panettiere also stated that Hayden “suffered from postpartum depression after the birth of her daughter,” and that her “addiction issues have escalated since then.”
Her daughter, Kaya, was born in 2014, and was shared by Panettiere and her ex, Wladimir Klitschko.
The information contained in the coroner’s report includes further details about what authorities discovered at the scene.
“A small clear plastic bag of a white powdery substance in a suitcase belonging to the descendent inside of a gray sunglasses case” was discovered nearby, along with “a cut straw with residue … inside of a small blue colored makeup type bag … inside [a] black bookbag/purse belonging to the descendent.”
Investigators also found “a medication bottle labeled as Adderall to the descendent on the kitchen table that contained a small, clear plastic bag with blue colored tablets that appeared to possibly be pressed pills and a cut straw.”
The coroner’s report confirmed that both the pills and straws later tested positive for fentanyl.
An Accidental Overdose
The report also stated that investigators at the scene found “multiple prescription bottles on the kitchen table and a small teal blue colored lunchbox with glass vials, prefilled and empty syringes located in the refrigerator.”
The coroner ultimately concluded that her death had been an “accident” brought about by “the toxic effects of fentanyl, 4-ANPP, Alprazolam, Methocarbamol and Quetiapine.”
An autopsy had previously determined that there had been no signs of trauma. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency is investigating her passing.
