00:00Brian Hickerson and his brother Zach Hickerson were at the scene of Hayden Panettiere's death
00:04Sunday, according to a heavily redacted police report obtained by Page Six. The report states
00:09that Zach was very emotional while emergency medical personnel were working on Panettiere,
00:14while Brian did not become emotional until she was officially pronounced dead. Brian also showed
00:18police a bag of medications Panettiere was taking at the time, though the names of the medications
00:23were redacted from the report. Panettiere had reportedly reconnected with her troubled ex-boyfriend,
00:27Brian Hickerson, just weeks before her death, while keeping the reunion in the dark from some
00:32of her friends. A source exclusively told Page Six that if Hickerson was back in Panettiere's life,
00:38she wasn't speaking about it with many of her friends. The insider suggested that shame may
00:42have played a role, saying that after going through dark times with someone and talking
00:46about those experiences, it can be difficult to admit to getting back together with that same
00:50person. Panettiere and Hickerson were first romantically linked in 2018 and had a tumultuous
00:56on-and-off relationship that included multiple alleged domestic violence incidents. The pair
01:01sparked reconciliation rumors in March 2026 when they were spotted together at LAX, with Hickerson
01:07accompanying Panettiere as she walked on crutches. According to another source, Hickerson reconnected
01:12with Panettiere about two weeks before her death. He reportedly spent about a week with her in Los
01:17Angeles and was supposed to leave, but the two ultimately ended up on a flight to South Carolina,
01:21where Hickerson is from. The source claimed the relationship was not romantic, but said Hickerson
01:27had a history of finding his way back into Panettiere's life, quote, as a friend. The insider
01:32also alleged that Hickerson would ask Panettiere for money and tell her that he couldn't get a job
01:37because she had put him in jail. The source said Panettiere's inner circle was always concerned
01:41about the relationship, describing Hickerson as bad news and a real jerk. Panettiere had previously
01:47opened up about how difficult it was to completely cut Hickerson out of her life. In May, she told
01:52Us Weekly that getting an abusive person out of your life can be like trying to rip out an entangled
01:57weed, adding that people like that can always manage to find a way to slither back in. Hickerson
02:03had also recently admitted to being abusive toward Panettiere. In May, he recalled one incident in which he
02:08was drunk and threatened to throw a phone at her. His past domestic abuse case also suffered a legal blow
02:14just three days before Panettiere's death. Hickerson had pleaded no contest in April 2021
02:19to two felony counts of injuring a spouse or girlfriend after an eight-count criminal indictment
02:25stemming from incidents involving Panettiere between May 2019 and January 2020. On August 13th,
02:32a judge denied Hickerson's request to reduce the felony charges to misdemeanors and expunge them from
02:37his record. Prosecutors had objected to both motions. Hickerson had previously been sentenced to 45 days in
02:43county jail, four years of formal probation, 52 mandatory domestic violence classes, and a five-year
02:48restraining order. He ultimately served 33 days after receiving credit for time previously served.
02:54Panettiere and Hickerson officially split in July 2022, but their connection appeared to continue in
02:59some form. Panettiere died on August 16th in Greenville, South Carolina at the age of 36. Police
03:06and emergency personnel responded to a report of an unresponsive woman and attempted to provide medical
03:12assistance before she was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities said her death remains under
03:16investigation and a cause of death had not been officially determined. 911 dispatch audio described
03:22the incident as an overdose while Narcan was reportedly found at the scene. Panettiere is survived by her
03:2711-year-old daughter Kaya and her parents.
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