The investigation into the 36-year-old US actress’ death is ongoing, police say
2-MIN READ2-MINAssociated PressPublished: 1:10am, 23 Sep 2026US actress Hayden Panettiere died from an accidental overdose of several drugs, including fentanyl, a coroner in South Carolina said on Tuesday.
Panettiere, 36, was found unresponsive in an apartment in Greenville, South Carolina, on August 16. Her on-and-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother Zach Hickerson were at the home.
According to a statement from the Greenville County Coroner’s Office, a combination of fentanyl and its chemical by-product, as well as the anti-anxiety medication alprazolam, a muscle relaxant and a drug used to treat major depression and other serious mental health disorders, was found in Panettiere’s system.
The office did not include further details from the autopsy report in its initial release.
