Lucrezia Ciotti A month after Hayden Panettiere 's death , new evidence is emerging in the investigation: investigators are considering the possibility that the actress took an oxycodone pill contaminated with fentanyl, while the DEA is investigating a possible supplier in Los Angeles.
Hayden Panettiere's cause of death remains unclear, with suspicions of oxycodone laced with fentanyl.
Nearly a month after Hayden Panettiere's death, investigators are focusing on a possible dose of oxycodone contaminated with fentanyl . The 36-year-old actress was found unconscious on August 16 in her Greenville, South Carolina, apartment where she was temporarily staying. According to a reconstruction reported by TMZ and picked up by Fanpage , Panettiere arrived the previous day from Los Angeles with her partner Brian Hickerson , carrying some prescription drugs that were apparently purchased illegally.
The next morning, he allegedly took a black-market oxycodone tablet, presumably containing fentanyl. However, this hypothesis has not yet been officially confirmed : the results of toxicology tests are still pending and will be crucial to definitively establishing the cause of death. The autopsy, however, revealed no trauma that could have contributed to his death.
The emergency call was recorded at 13:51 PM. Hickerson attempted to revive the actress , including by administering Narcan , a medication used to counteract the effects of an opioid overdose, but all attempts were unsuccessful. When paramedics arrived, her partner also handed over a bag containing Panettiere's medications: those very packages could play a key role if further contaminated pills are discovered during the investigation.
Hayden Panettiere's death: DEA seeks possible supplier in Los Angeles
The investigation has meanwhile moved to California , where the Drug Enforcement Administration is trying to trace the origin of the substances . According to investigative rumors, Panettiere allegedly had contact with a Los Angeles supplier who procured prescription drugs illegally. At this time, however, no one has been arrested , and the connection between any illegally purchased substances and the actress's death remains unproven.
Panettiere had spoken publicly over the years about her struggles with addiction and alcohol . An actress since childhood, she achieved international fame with Heroes, playing Claire Bennet, before playing Juliette Barnes in Nashville and appearing in the Scream franchise. In her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning , published a few months before her death, she recounted her early career, the birth of her daughter Kaya, born from her relationship with Wladimir Klitschko, and the grief over the loss of her brother Jansen , who died in 2023 at the age of 28. The book also described a period of personal recovery: toxicology results and developments in the federal investigation will now clarify what happened in the final hours of her life.