Entertainment Report
DEA Joins Investigation Into Death of Actress Hayden Panettiere, Reports Say
The federal Drug Enforcement Administration has reportedly joined the investigation into the death of actress Hayden Panettiere, according to reports from The New York Times and ABC News, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Panettiere, 36, was found unresponsive Sunday at an apartment in Greenville, South Carolina. Medics responding to a 911 call placed by her boyfriend and his brother found her in cardiac arrest, according to authorities.
Panettiere had spoken openly about addiction and postpartum depression during her adult life. She also documented those struggles, along with the loss of her brother, in a memoir released this year.
Authorities have not said whether Panettiere overdosed. Dispatch audio obtained from Broadcastify.com references a possible overdose and CPR in progress. Efforts to resuscitate her were unsuccessful, and the coroner’s office said she was pronounced dead at the scene at 2:32 p.m.
Panettiere’s representative told ABC News that there was nothing to share while the investigation remains ongoing, adding that the family is hopeful justice will be served.
Her boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, showed responding officers a bag containing her medications, according to a heavily redacted police report.
The Greenville Police Department said it is handling Panettiere’s death in the same manner as other death investigations. Police said there were no signs of foul play during the initial response and investigation.
No cause or manner of death has been determined. Toxicology testing, which is standard in many death investigations, could take several weeks to complete.
An autopsy performed Monday found no signs of trauma that would have contributed to Panettiere’s death, according to the coroner’s office.
The DEA has not publicly confirmed its involvement in the investigation. CNN has reached out to the agency and representatives for Panettiere for comment.
Panettiere’s sudden death has prompted an outpouring of grief from Hollywood and Ukraine. Wladimir Klitschko, Panettiere’s former partner and the father of their child, mourned the actress and activist in a statement posted Tuesday.
By: NBC Palm Springs
August 20, 2026
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