September 23, 2026 | 09:03 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Actress Hayden Panettiere died from the toxic effects of fentanyl, Xanax and other drugs, according to an autopsy completed by the Greenville County Coroner’s Office in South Carolina.
The coroner’s office ruled Panettiere’s death an accident and said no signs of trauma were found that contributed to her death, according to BBC.
Panettiere, known for her roles in the television series Heroes and Nashville, died last month at the age of 36 after she was found unresponsive at a residence in South Carolina.
Emergency responders attempted to revive her, but their efforts were unsuccessful, the coroner’s office said.
Autopsy Finds Multiple Drugs
In addition to fentanyl and Xanax, the autopsy found methocarbamol, a prescription muscle relaxant, and quetiapine, an antipsychotic medication used to treat certain mental health conditions.
Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid that has been linked to hundreds of thousands of deaths in the United States in recent years.
The US Drug Enforcement Administration was reportedly assisting local police with the investigation into Panettiere’s death.
A police report from the day she died said her former boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, and his brother, Zack, were at the residence when emergency services arrived. Hickerson has previously admitted to abusing Panettiere.
Panettiere Spoke Openly About Addiction
Panettiere had spoken publicly about her struggles with substance abuse and postpartum depression.
Just months before her death, she published a memoir in which she detailed her experiences with addiction and described being introduced to drugs when she was around 16.
Panettiere said she was given what she was told was a “happy pill” by someone from her professional team during a red-carpet appearance for Heroes.
“I had no idea that this was not an appropriate thing, or what door that would open for me when it came to my addiction,” she told People magazine.
She later said drugs and alcohol became difficult to live without as she grew older.
Panettiere also wrote about the death of her younger brother, Jansen, who died at 28 from a heart condition. She said in her memoir that he had also struggled with substance abuse and had used heroin and cocaine before his death.
Panettiere began her acting career as a child and rose to international recognition through Heroes, in which she played cheerleader Claire Bennet. She later starred as country singer Juliette Barnes in Nashville.
Her death has renewed attention on the risks associated with substance abuse and the deadly impact of fentanyl in the United States.
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