Feds Probe Hayden Panettiere's 'Suspicious' Death

It is now being reported that. authorities are investigating the sudden. death of Hayden Panitier for any signs. of criminality while the DEA, the Drug. Enforcement Administration, has also. jumped in as well. What does this tell. us about what happened to the actress? Welcome to Sidebar, presented by Law and. Crime. I'm Jesse Weber. Things are reportedly evolving in. connection with the death of actress. Hayden Panitier. We started the week by.

learning that the 36-year-old was found. Sunday unresponsive in cardiac arrest at. this apartment that she was temporarily. staying at in Greenville, South. Carolina. First responders apparently. tried to conduct these life-saving. measures, but she was pronounced dead at. the scene at 2:32 p.m. There was even. reportedly dispatch audio where you can. seemingly hear the word overdose. This. is shocking. This is sad. This is. incredibly tragic, especially when you. consider the Nashville star had publicly.

addressed addiction in the past, a. battle with postpartum depression in the. past. And look, while the preliminary. findings of the autopsy reportedly found. no signs of trauma, and the Greenville. Police Department indicated they didn't. appear to find any evidence of foul play. or suspicious circumstances. Now, we are getting word that things may. be evolving, things may be escalating. TMZ has reported that law enforcement. sources indicated to them that. authorities are investigating whether a.

crime has been committed, namely because. of how unexpected Hayden Panitier's. death is. And so law enforcement is. investigating this seemingly at the same. time as the coroner's office. And by the. way, it's been reported that no cause or. manner of death has been determined and. that they're awaiting the toxicology. results, right? The toxicology test, the. toxicology report, which could take some. time. And then you couple that with. reporting that is now coming out by. multiple outlets like Fox, CNN, the New. York Times, that the DEA, the Drug.

Enforcement Administration, we're. talking federal agency here has joined. the investigation. So the questions I. have, the questions I think we all have. are why, what does this mean, what are. they looking for, what is happening now. behind the scenes. So I'm going to be. bringing on a retired detective shortly. to just to talk about that, what we. should be thinking about. But first, let. me just give you some more information. Okay, so we have also learned that. reportedly the heroes actress on again. offagain boyfriend Brian Hickerson and.

his brother Zach were at the scene, were. at the apartment, that they placed the. 911 phone call. CNN is claiming the. police report indicates that an officer. interviewed the brothers with the police. report saying, quote, "I spoke with Zack. Hickerson first. He advised this was his. brother's girlfriend. CNN is also. reporting that Brian Hickerson allegedly. showed officers a bag of medications at. the apartment. This is per a police. report. And by the way, TMZ has also.

reported that sources claim Narcan was. found at this apartment, too, which is. used to treat an opioid overdose. Now, something to note about Brian Hickerson. If you're not familiar with him when it. comes to Hayden Panitier, he had been. accused by the actress of domestic. abuse, particularly in her memoir just a. few months back. The New York Times was. reporting that back in March, only a few. months before Hayden Penitenti died, she. had reportedly hired security to keep. Hickerson away. that court documents. reveal he was sentenced to 45 days in.

jail after pleading no contest to two. felony domestic violence charges for. injuring Panitier. Panitier wrote in her. memoir, "What I never told them was that. the abuse I'd endured didn't feel as bad. as the thought of being alone." And by. the way, Hickerson himself even came out. after this memoir was published. apologized for what happened, saying it. was true that he was in a dark place. that included issues with substances and. that it was a quote terrible thing. I. did to her. In fact, let me call this. out too. Hayden Paniter's estranged.

mother, Leslie Vogle, has now spoken out. to telling NBC in part, quote, "This. person in her life that we've been. trying to get rid of for quite some time. was with her at her death, and that was. Brian Hickerson." Back in May, Hickerson. called Vogle, quote, "One of the worst. people I've ever met in my life." And. there have been reports about what the. relationship was like between Hayden. Penitentiary and her mother. But we go. back to August 2022. So Hickerson was. actually sentenced to several years of.

probation for violating his probation. Had to complete a year-long domestic. violence treatment program, attend AA, Alcoholics Anonymous, these meetings, complete dozens of anger management. sessions. This is all according to court. records. And there was even reporting. that he even tried to get the court to. reduce his felony convictions to. misdemeanors, but without success. and. that he even tried to do so as recently. as last week. This is again according to. court records. Wasn't successful there. either. The Hollywood reporter.

apparently spoke with Mia Terzas, who. claims to have been Hayden Penitenti's. neighbor in West Hollywood, says that. she called 911 at least a half a dozen. times to report these disturbances. Says. that she absolutely saw signs of. domestic violence with respect to. Hickerson, telling the outlet, quote, I. saw her leaving on a gurnie. Brian was. right next to her and I asked her if she. was okay and it looked to me that she. had suffered some type of trauma that. looked to be battering. It was clear she. was terrified. And then there's this.

According to page six, police just. showed up to Hickerson's grandmother's. house in Greenville, South Carolina. Now, this was for a welfare check. The. outlet claimed that Zach was home. Again, this is days after Hayden. Penitentiier's death, but we cannot say. at this point definitively if this has. anything to do with Hayden Penitent's. death, if it's any way connected to that. investigation, but I'm just going to. call this out. Anyway, to be clear, by. the way, no one no one has been accused.

of a crime. No one has been charged with. a crime in any way here. I just want to. make that clear as we're reporting this. right now. But before I go into more. depth about the investigation, what we. should be thinking about, what's. happening behind the scenes, why the DEA. is reportedly getting involved, I just. want to give you an idea from a personal. point of view. I want to give you an. idea of what a profound loss Hayden. Panitier's death has left on those who. knew her. And by the way, she's survived. by her daughter Ka, who she shared with.

ex- fiance Vladimir Klitschko. So, actor. Tim Allen, for example, posted to X, quote, I am shocked and so sad at the. passing of Hayden Panitiier. She played. my daughter in the movie Joe Somebody. The fondest memories of that movie were. moments around her. She is a wonder and. my prayers are with her family. Nashville co-star Connie Britain posting. online with a photo of them saying, "This was hated, bursting with. brilliance, shining so bright. I have no. words for this sad song, just. heartbreak. I love you girl. Sleep easy. now." Actor Justin Chatwin telling Fox.

News Digital, quote, "Well, I met her. back in her 20s on Heroes and then I met. her again on this film Sleepwalker. We. reunited and she's just got one of the. biggest hearts of anyone that I've. worked with and she's super sweet, but I. noticed the difference in yeah, life had. taken a toll on her and she had a lot of. unfortunate incidents. At the end of the. day, you go home from a warm, fun movie. set where everybody's telling you you're. great and you're alone in your house and. you still got to order your coffee and. eat your dinner and it's a really lonely. career. But on set, she was super fun.

and I really loved having deep. conversations with her. Actress Misha. Barton telling Fox News Digital, quote, I am heartbroken by the news of Hayden's. passing. Hayden spoke candidly about her. struggles with depression, something no. one deserves to endure. Her passing at. such a young age with so much life still. ahead of her is profoundly. heartbreaking. Heroes co-star Masioa. posted on X that he was absolutely. heartbroken to hear about Hayden. I had. the privilege of working closely with. her and I'll always remember her for her. beautiful spirit, the men's talent, and.

the joyful energy she brought to. everything she did and the people around. her. She was way wiser beyond her years. and now gone too soon. My heart goes out. to her family and everyone who loved. her. Rest in peace, Hayden. Actress Emma. Roberts, who worked with Panitier on. Scream 4, writing, "Rest in peace, my. sweet friend. You are so loved and you. will be forever missed." Actress Kim. Catral, who worked with Panitier on. 2005's This Disney film Ice Princess, wrote, "Rest in peace, sweet Hayden. Gone far too soon." And going back to.

Vladimir Klitschko, her ex-artner, ex-. fiance, former heavyweight boxing. champion, posted on X, "Our family is. going through a time of profound shock. and grief. The announcement of Hayden's. tragic death saddens me deeply. She left. this world far too soon. Hayden was, although no longer my partner, an. important part of my life and the mother. of our daughter, Ka. She built an. incredible career through immense talent. while also facing the darker sides of a. very demanding industry. Nothing will. erase the times we shared or the place.

she had in our lives. To our daughter, Kaia, I will always speak of her mother. with respect and make sure she remembers. the person she was. I extend my deepest. condolences to Hayden's parents, her. friends, and her fans who are also. grieving today. Young and talented. people like Hayden should not leave this. world so soon. I ask everyone to please. respect our family's feelings and. privacy during this incredibly difficult. time. For now, this is all I wish to. say. Thank you to everyone who is. supporting my family and expressing. their sincere condolences. Rest easy, Hayden. May you find eternal peace.

Okay, let me bring in retired detective, law enforcement instructor Matt Irvine. Love having Matt on whenever we have. these kind of strange investigations, what's happening behind the scenes. Um. Matt, thanks for taking the time. This. is just a tragedy on so many different. fronts. But I do want to talk about the. investigative aspect of it. Why bring. the DEA on board? >> Yeah, that's a very interesting question. because the DEA typically does not get. involved in cases that appear to be uh.

suspected overdoses even if there is. possibly some suspicion of foul play. I. would expect that the reason the DEA is. involved is they believe that uh the. substances that may have contributed to. uh Hayden Penitentary's death um may be. connected to a person or organization. that is already the subject of their. investigation. >> You know, a lot of people have already. been saying Matthew Perry, is that what. you're talking about? That whatever the. sub and by the way, we don't know the as.

I said, we don't know the cause and. manner of death. I don't know the. circumstances here, but you're saying. you bring the DEA on board if there is. part if they're now trying to find the. suppliers, the people who uh if there. were substances there who gave those. substances. What resources does the DEA. bring into an investigation? What do. they do? >> Well, the DEA has massive resources. they have tremendous uh forensic. capacity and this is a case certainly. where it uh appears that they are. already looking at uh communications.

looking at devices uh the DEA if they've. already got a personal organization. under investigation has a lot of. intelligence uh on that target that they. can leverage uh to support this. investigation. I don't know what the law. is in South Carolina in terms of being. able to charge somebody with homicide. uh for causing the death of another. person through the provision of uh. illicit substances, but uh that is. certainly a possibility and and the. Matthew Perry case would be the most.

famous example. >> How do they work handinhand with local. law enforcement? How does it work? And. because they're they have competing. investig not competing, but they have. differing goals, right? I mean, what the. DEA is looking for is different than. what local law enforcement is looking. for. >> Possibly. I mean, a joint investigation. is a fairly common practice. Uh. generally the DEA like the FBI works. very well with local law enforcement. It's a complimentary approach rather. than a competitive approach. When I said. to authorities are investigating if a.

crime was committed, if there was some. sense of illegality, particularly. because her death was so sudden, what. are they looking for? What are they what. are they who are they interviewing? How. does it work in terms of trying to see. if a crime was committed? >> Well, there's a couple of ways that a. crime could be involved here. I mean it. is certainly not uh immaterial that she. died in the company of uh Brian. Hickerson who has been convicted of uh. felony abuse against her. When women die.

uh when they are murdered it is very. often by intimate partners. So. absolutely that possibility needs to be. part of any uh state investigation. Uh. beyond any possible culpability on Mr. Hickerson's part, there is the question. of again, if this is a case where she. died because she was provided with some. kind of illicit substance, where did. those substances come from? And is it. possible to hold criminally accountable. the person or persons that provided her.

with those substances? So, there's. really kind of two fronts in terms of. looking at criminality. the possible. involvement of the intimate partner or. other persons that were actually present. at the time that she potentially. overdosed. And then kind of one step. out, where did those substances come. from? And can the personal organization. that provided those substances be held. criminally liable? >> But why do authorities initially say no. trauma, no suspicious circumstances, no. evidence of foul play? What would lead. them to say that? And how do you.

reconcile that with the new reporting. that they're investigating to make sure. a crime wasn't committed? >> Well, both things are possible. When. they say no evidence of foul play, no. trauma, that simply suggests that there. was no indication that she was beaten, stabbed, shot, or somehow violently. killed. That does not mean that her. death uh whether it be a accidental. overdose or somebody intentionally. providing her with enough uh drugs to. kill her um is not a separate crime. So.

the initial scene did not appear. apparently to show uh a violent death. That doesn't mean that the death is not. potentially a homicide. >> Just to be clear again, I'm going to say. this again. No one has been charged with. a crime. No one has been accused of. committing a crime. would have been. accused of committing a crime in. connection with Hayden's death. However, generally speaking, how would you know. whether somebody. was somebody purposely made someone. overdose or tricked them or spike.

something or I mean, what would be some. potential evidence there? Again, they're looking closely at. communications and that may show some uh. plan either a plan on her partially to. take substance A when the toxicology. ultimately shows that she died from an. ingestion of substance B. That could. suggest that somebody gave her something. that she didn't intend to take, that she. didn't have the tolerance for, that was. much more potentially lethal than. whatever it was she intended to ingest.

uh if that was done intentionally, that. could be a crime. Um it's also possible. again that the persons with her uh had. no knowledge that she was uh ingesting. something that could potentially be. fatal, but the person or organization. that provided those substances knew or. should have known that she was being. provided with something that could kill. her. And again, uh, if you're obtaining. drugs, uh, particularly in this day and. age, and particularly if you're a. celebrity, you're not driving down to.

some sketchy corner. You're doing it. probably, uh, through electronic. communications. >> Let me ask you this. So, it all comes. down to the toxicology test, the. toxicology report, right? I mean, like, how what are those what does that. testing entail? How long does something. like that uh take and how will we find. out the results of that? I imagine, again, I don't know the. practices in South Carolina, but I would. imagine that once the toxicology is. done, um, that report should be publicly.

available, just like autopsy reports are. generally publicly available. The. exception would be if there is an. ongoing criminal investigation and. there's a reason to keep those findings. secret either because they don't want to. tip off the targets of the investigation. or because they intend to present the. findings to a grand jury and don't want. to taint that process. If either of. those things are true, uh it could be a. while before we find out in order to. protect the integrity of an. investigation. >> And generally speaking, does it take a. while for those tests to come back? Does.

it take a while for them to fully do a. complete evaluation of what was in her. system? >> It's typically a matter of weeks. Again, they can rush things uh and the process. itself doesn't take too terribly long. It's just a question of kind of what. their uh procedure is in terms of. bumping the line uh to be crude about it. in a high-profile case. >> If it's true that Narcan was present. there, what does that tell you? >> So, it's interesting. I noted that and. what's not clear to me is whether the. Narcan was brought to the scene by.

emergency medical personnel or whether. it was already on scene. If it was. already on scene, it's fairly common now. for people who use um central nervous. system depressant drugs and opiates to. have Narcan handy because it is a. lifesaver. uh overdoses particularly. from fentanyl uh have been reduced. dramatically at least deaths from. overdoses have been reduced dramatically. because users have access to and use. Narcan. So again, if this was something.

that was planned, uh that they would. have Narcan on hand is not surprising. And obviously, emergency medical. personnel carry Narcan with them because. they respond routinely to overdoses, particularly on fentanyl and other CNS. depressant drugs. >> You know, look, we're still trying to. understand what happened. Variety is. reporting that um a director Griff first. who directed of one of Haya Panitier's. final films um said that her team had.

asked him to participate in an. intervention for her um after they. filmed that movie last year. Um so you. know look this is as I mentioned she's. been open about her struggles in the. past and and we're trying to understand. it. You had talked about Hickerson. I. mentioned Tickerson before, I mentioned. his brother there, both of them there. So, I feel like law enforcement, they. spoke to them initially, but do they. have to investigate them further? How. far back do they go? What questions do.

they ask? Do they get a subpoena for um. or a warrant rather for their electronic. devices? What What goes on with the. Hickersons? So, as I said earlier, I think you have. to look at them or at least look at. Brian Hickerson uh as a person of. interest in this case until he can be. ruled out simply because uh he's been. convicted of harming her. Uh and again, just statistically, when women are. killed, it is very often by intimate.

partners. So, he is an obvious person of. interest uh unless and until he can be. eliminated. Uh to that end, uh they. should be interviewing him if he's. willing to talk and they should. absolutely be looking at at electronic. devices. Uh they might also uh get a. warrant for his his physical premises, for where he lives and for his vehicle. Um again, this is not saying that he is. guilty of anything. It's just saying. that a a thorough investigation should. absolutely consider him as a a person of. interest. >> Was there anything unusual to you about.

the police report? Was it the idea that, you know, they were there, called 911, brother said this was Hayden Panitier's. boyfriend? We know that there's it's a. lot more complicated than just that, but. did anything from the police report. strike you as strange? >> Not at first glance. You know, a lot of. folks have been making a lot of noise. about the fact that Brian Hickerson did. not appear particularly emotional until. he was notified that Hayden Pantier was. gone. I think that's a red herring. I um.

people who are experiencing traumatic. events react in any number of ways. I've. seen people be hysterical. I've seen. people be catatonic. I've seen people go. from one to the other in a matter of. minutes. And how you react in hour one. is different than how you react on day. two. So I think uh we make a mistake in. trying to read into his reaction. something that that speaks to his his. potential involvement. There's just no. one way to react to trauma. >> I thought they said he did show emotion,

but maybe I read it wrong. >> Uh my recollection was that the brother. was quite emotional. >> and that Hickerson was kind of um. >> it sounds like uh fairly flat in his. affect until he was notified of her. passing. And again, that is a perfectly. normal and potentially perfectly. innocent response to trauma. >> How much does the family get to know. about the investigation? How much are. they kept a breast before the public, before the media? How much are they kept. in the loop about what's going on?

Whether it's from the feds or local law. enforcement, >> that is always a tricky balance for. investigators because on the one hand, you want to respect that these are. people who are grieving, who have lost a. loved one, and who deserve the respect. and and empathy and consideration from. the investigative team. On the other. hand, you don't want to provide. information to the family that could. taint the investigation. And at least uh. when it comes to uh her mother, she is a.

very vocal and public figure. So, you. could probably assume that if you tell. her something, it's going to show up on. TMZ, you know, within a matter of hours. And that could be potentially very. prejuditial from an investigation. >> Yeah. Look, you know, I don't know. I. don't know her. I don't know anything. that much about her. I know there's a. lot of reports about her. But. relationship with Hayden Penetier, but. you also hope if family's given. information, they won't, you know, speak. about it. But I I don't know. I don't. know. Uh I don't know her or anybody. else in this case. I'm trying to find. I'm trying to figure this out. I I just. think it's it's so sad. It's so tragic.

She was so young. Um and while we. developed the circumstances of this, I. keep thinking about her daughter um who. has to now navigate this uh and growing. up without her mom. It's it's it's. really really heartbreaking. Uh Matt. Irvine, I really appreciate you coming. on to talk about this as I always do. So, thank you, sir. >> Thank you very much. I'm sorry that uh. we have to. talk about this this tragedy. >> And that's all we have for you right now. here on Sidebar. Everybody, thank you so. much for joining us. And as always,

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