Police report confirms further details from the scene when Hayden Panettiere was found dead

Following the death of actress Hayden Panettiere, a police report has confirmed more details of what happened. 

36-year-old Hayden, known for acting roles in Nashville and Heroes, died after suffering a cardiac arrest at a home in Greenville, South Carolina on Sunday.  

According to a police report obtained by TMZ, Hayden was found unresponsive in a living room armchair, by her boyfriend’s brother. Zach Hickerson found the actress, as his brother Brian Hickerson was asleep in the property. 

It’s been reported Zach then called 911, and woke up his brother. Emergency services “worked on” Hayden for around an hour, before she was declared dead.

Police officers are said to have arrived at 1:50pm, and they found multiple EMS and firemen performing CPR for “an extended amount of time” on the actress, “who did not seem to have any obvious physical reasons to be unresponsive.”

via ABC

It was claimed a police report said Zach was “very emotional” as this happened, whereas Brian showed no emotion until the death was formally declared. “I observed Zach to be very emotional while EMS were working on Hayden. Brian did not become emotional until EMS declared her officially deceased,” an officer said.

It was also said Brian Hickerson allegedly showed police a “bag of medication” that Hayden had been taking at the time of her death. 

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The Greenville County Coroner’s Office has said Hayden Panettiere’s cause of death remains under investigation, however 911 dispatch audio mentioned “cardiac arrest” and an alleged “overdose”. At autopsy, no signs of trauma were discovered that would have contributed to the death.

In a statement, the police department said: “On August 16, 2026, at approximately 1:51pm, officers from the Greenville police department, accompanied by EMS personnel, responded to a report of an unresponsive female at Judson Mill Lofts, located at 701 Easley Bridge Road.

“Upon arrival, medical assistance was administered; however, the individual, later identified as Hayden Panettiere, was pronounced deceased at the scene.”

It was added: “EMS personnel initiated advanced cardiac life support measures; however, resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful, and the individual was pronounced deceased at 2:32pm.”

TMZ has since reported that police are trying to gain access to security footage that is said to show Hayden entering and leaving the apartment complex she had been staying in when she died. 

The footage could be used to give investigators a more clear timeline of Hayden, Brian and Zach’s movements before she suffered the cardiac arrest.

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