Brian Hickerson's Lawyer Says Police Found No Foul Play

Hayden Panettiere's on-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson has finally spoken about her death, but his words came through legal representatives four days after the incident. The actress was discovered unresponsive inside an apartment in South Carolina at age 36. Sloan Ellis, a lawyer from the Ellis Hinton firm representing Hickerson, addressed TMZ regarding the situation. He stated that Hayden's death remains under active investigation and emphasized the need to let officials do their work without interference.

The attorney noted that police have already 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,' Ellis said on behalf of Hickerson. This silence follows a chaotic Sunday afternoon when a Greenville officer arrived at the scene. The responder found Hickerson and his brother Zach waiting inside the residence before paramedics began CPR on Panettiere.

The emergency workers eventually declared her dead at 2:31 pm. A police report noted that the patient did not seem to have any obvious physical reasons for being unresponsive initially. However, a dispatcher later described a cardiac arrest during the 911 call from the apartment. Sources told TMZ that Narcan was found on a mattress at the property. This medication is used to treat opioid overdoses, and investigators suspect an overdose may have been involved alongside the heart attack.

The Greenville County Coroner's Office says the cause of death remains under investigation. Panettiere had struggled with alcohol addiction and depression throughout her career in Heroes and Nashville. She would have turned 37 on Friday if she were still here to celebrate. Her relationship with Hickerson began in 2018 but became turbulent as he faced multiple arrests for domestic violence charges. Just three days before she died, a judge denied his request to reduce past felony charges.

Court records show Hickerson was arrested for injuring a partner in May 2019 and charged accordingly. He pleaded no contest in April 2021 and received a sentence of 45 days in county jail plus four years' probation. Panettiere had even filed for a restraining order against him in July 2020, signaling the end of their romantic involvement by that point. In her memoir titled This Is Me: A Reckoning, she revealed intimate details about her life and alleged abuse. She claimed he beat her so severely that she hid at home for weeks to keep injuries from public view.

She feared telling police because she worried the truth would become public knowledge. Her daughter is 11 years old, born to her ex-partner Wladimir Klitschko. The former boxer now holds full custody of the youngster and serves as a Ukrainian government official. Hickerson's presence in that apartment on Sunday adds another layer of complexity to this tragedy. His family was there when she lost her fight for life.

The community watches closely as authorities untangle the details of what happened inside that South Carolina home. Questions linger about exactly how an overdose could lead to a cardiac arrest so quickly. The legal system must now determine if criminal charges will follow or if the matter ends with the investigation.

Court records do not reveal what happened with her request. The Greenville Police Department issued a statement saying their preliminary investigation into Panettiere's death showed no signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances. An autopsy found no signs of trauma that could have contributed to the death. This means an accident or natural causes seem most likely, yet the official outcome remains hidden from public view. Families and fans are left wondering why the full story is not shared.