Hayden Panettiere's mother Lesley Vogel has broken her silence following the actress's death at age 36 in Greenville, South Carolina on Sunday, blasting her daughter's on-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson.
Vogel, 70, spoke out after a newly released police report revealed that convicted felon Hickerson, 37, was present when Panettiere suffered a suspected overdose at the Judson Mill Lofts apartment complex, where she was temporarily staying.
Speaking to NBC News, Vogel criticized Hickerson's presence in her daughter's life during her final moments. "This person in her life that we have been trying to get rid of for quite some time was with her at her death and that was Brian Hickerson," Vogel said.
Vogel claimed that the couple were still together at the time of Panettiere's death, adding that she "always knew they were together." She stated that "there is a lot of history in the past that Brian has enabled Hayden many times and this is why her father and I had been concerned for a long time about him."
Reflecting on her daughter's career, Vogel described Panettiere as an "amazingly talented person in so many departments." She added that young people growing up in the entertainment industry face significant challenges, saying "it is a struggle and it’s a very challenging industry and it’s not unusual for them to sadly find the wrong path."
Vogel expressed regret over her daughter's trajectory, saying, "I think it becomes very difficult to be true to yourself, and I think Hayden sadly lost her way, and I wish it were different. I wish she had stayed true to herself because she had many incredible attributes."
Vogel broke down in tears as she recalled the loss of her son Jansen, who died in 2023 at the age of 28. "I just feel that she’s with her brother and they’re at peace," Vogel said.
Police Report Details Scene inside Apartment
Weighing in on the timing of the 911 call reporting that Panettiere was in cardiac arrest on Sunday, Vogel expressed concern, noting it was "not the typical hour of the day that you are partying, generally speaking."
Vogel said she last spoke to her daughter in October, followed by brief texting, but had not been in contact recently. She explained that "no-contact was a choice I made for very specific reasons and, you know, certainly not for lack of care, concern, love." Vogel added she had little information due to the ongoing investigation but planned to speak with a detective.
According to a report from the Greenville Police Department, Hickerson and his brother Zach were inside the apartment when Panettiere suffered the fatal incident. They had flown together with Panettiere from Los Angeles to South Carolina, where Hickerson is from, one day prior to her death.
An officer at the scene noted that Zach was "very emotional" as paramedics performed CPR, while Hickerson displayed no emotion until his partner was pronounced dead. Officers arrived at 1:50 p.m. to find emergency personnel performing CPR for an extended duration on Panettiere, who showed no obvious physical indicators for being unresponsive.
Hickerson subsequently showed officers a bag of medication Panettiere had been taking. Audio from the 911 call revealed a dispatcher describing the incident as a cardiac arrest and suspected overdose, while sources told TMZ that Narcan, a nasal spray used to reverse opioid overdoses, was found on a mattress inside the residence.
History of Domestic Violence and Court Battles
The Greenville County Coroner's Office confirmed the cause of death remains under investigation. The Greenville Police Department stated that preliminary findings show no signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances, and an autopsy revealed no signs of physical trauma.
Panettiere and Hickerson shared a tumultuous on-off relationship between 2018 and 2022, marked by domestic violence incidents and arrests. In May 2019, Hickerson was arrested and charged with injuring a spouse or girlfriend. He pleaded no contest in April 2021, receiving a sentence of 45 days in county jail and four years of probation.
Panettiere filed for a restraining order against Hickerson in July 2020 after their initial breakup, though court records do not state the final outcome. Just three days before Panettiere's death, a judge denied Hickerson's request to reduce his past felony charges.
In her memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning, published three months before her death, Panettiere alleged Hickerson once assaulted her so severely that she remained inside her house for weeks to hide her injuries. She described the relationship as a "very dark and complicated time" and admitted attempting to protect him from police out of fear of public exposure.
The relationship also generated friction between Hickerson and Vogel. In May, Hickerson publicly criticized Vogel in an interview with TMZ following memoir disclosures, calling her "one of the worst people I've ever met in my life" and adding, "I just can't with her, she's terrible."
Family Rift and Personal Struggles
Panettiere's memoir detailed growing up with her mother as her manager and feeling pushed too hard. She revealed she had been bisexual from a very young age but was discouraged by Vogel from disclosing it publicly to protect her acting career.
Addressing the claims in May, Vogel told the Daily Mail she was skeptical about the timing, saying she did not believe it was hidden and noting the estrangement began around mid-September 2025. Vogel stated at the time: "After 20 years of trauma, chaos, addictions [and] accusations, I felt I had no other option but to choose no contact."
Panettiere wrote that approaching her mother directly about her feelings was daunting, describing the book as her way of being honest. She also wrote candidly about her own struggles with alcohol and opiate abuse, as well as postpartum depression.
Panettiere's younger brother Jansen, who also battled substance abuse, died unexpectedly in 2023 at age 28 from an enlarged heart and aortic valve complications. Panettiere expressed shock over his use of crack and heroin, stating: "I should have understood better than anybody what he was going through. And of all the people that could have saved him from passing away, it should have been me."
Following her brother's death and her mother's estrangement, Panettiere remained close with her father, Alan Lee "Skip" Panettiere, and stepmother, Mekdem, spending time living with them in Rockland County, New York, to feel re-grounded.
Daughter Kaya and Acting Career
Panettiere is survived by her 11-year-old daughter, Kaya, from her previous relationship with former heavyweight boxing champion and Ukrainian official Wladimir Klitschko, 50. Following a life-threatening birth, Panettiere made the decision in 2018 to hand full custody to Klitschko, allowing Kaya to reside in Ukraine.
Discussing the custody arrangement, Panettiere later explained that once she got healthy, pulling her daughter away from the life she had established in Ukraine would have been unfair and selfish.
Panettiere began her career as a child actor in soap operas before landing prominent roles in the 2000 sports drama Remember the Titans alongside Denzel Washington and voicing Dot in Pixar's 1998 animated film A Bug's Life.
She achieved major television success as cheerleader Claire Bennet in NBC's superhero series Heroes and starred as country singer Juliette Barnes for six seasons on Nashville, earning two Golden Globe nominations and scoring 11 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Her film work included Bring It On: All or Nothing, Raising Helen, and portraying Kirby Reed in Scream 4 and Scream VI.
