Hayden Panettiere died after taking pill laced with fentanyl, report says

Hayden Panettiere took a pill that was allegedly laced with fentanyl on the day she died, according to a new report.The beloved actress died at the age of 36 in Greenville, South Carolina, last month.Panettiere allegedly took oxycodone laced with fentanyl, sources told TMZ. Just a few grains of the powerful opioid, which is 50 times stronger than heroin, can cause a fatal overdose. The mom-of-one bought several black-market prescription drugs, including oxycodone, from a 'long time drug dealer' she had in Los Angeles, the outlet reported.The star and her on-off real estate agent boyfriend Brian Hickerson had flown from Los Angeles to South Carolina, where he is from, one day before she died. Panettiere is seen on May 19, 2026 in New York City, promoting her new book. The tragic news comes just months after her memoir, This is Me, became a New York Times bestseller. The actress had become candid about her struggles dealing with fame, especially as a child star, in the months before her passing Beloved actress Hayden Panettiere died at the age of 36. She leaves behind her daughter, who is 11. Panettiere is pictured here attending the Met Gala in 2014TMZ reported that the actress took several drugs she purchased in LA on the flight. Authorities allegedly believe the pill she took the morning of her death was laced. Hickerson administered Narcan, a medicine that quickly reverses an opioid overdose, to Panettiere after finding her unresponsive. Police are now trying to trace the fatal pill back to the person who allegedly sold it to her, according to sources speaking to the outlet. At this time, no one has been arrested in connection with Panettiere's death. Hickerson reportedly met with investigators from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) last week as they continued their probe into her death.The DEA's involvement aligns with paramedics reporting a suspected overdose over dispatch calls. First responders located Narcan, a nasal spray used to reverse the effects of opioid overdose, inside the apartment where Panettiere was found dead.Panettiere died at the end of a long struggle with alcohol and opiates, spending eight months in rehab in 2020 after contracting jaundice and being informed by her doctor that 'if I didn't stop drinking, I'd be dead within five years,' as she wrote in her memoir.Hickerson was on the scene along with his brother Zachary when she was pronounced dead, according to a police report. Brian and Panettiere pictured in LA in December of 2018 Panettiere started out as a child star, with her first acting gig at just 11 months old The Hollywood star is pictured here at a gala in Hollywood in 2022 Zach was arrested last week for disorderly conduct following a bar brawl after he and Brian were reportedly heckled over Panettiere's death. Over the course of their turbulent relationship, Hickerson faced multiple domestic violence charges, and in 2021 he served 13 days in custody for injuring her.After she was declared dead, Hickerson is said to have handed the authorities a 'bag of medication' she had been taking, per the police report.Detectives confirmed to the Daily Mail that they responded to an apartment block in Greenville after they received a 911 call from an 'acquaintance' of Panettiere, describing her as 'unresponsive.'In the dispatch audio of the call made at 1.51pm, a female dispatcher described Panettiere as suffering a 'cardiac arrest.' A few moments later a male dispatcher could be heard saying that Panettiere had suffered a suspected overdose at the home.Greenville County Sheriff's Office said that Panettiere's autopsy had been completed and that no signs of trauma were found on the star's body. The former child star was known for her roles on the hit NBC series Heroes and musical drama Nashville. The Hollywood star earned multiple award nominations across her career, most notably while playing cheerleader Claire Bennet on Heroes and Juliette Barnes on Nashville. The actress's younger brother, Jansen Panettiere, passed away in February 2023 from 'an enlarged heart'. They are seen together here in 2011Panettiere also appeared in the Scream franchise as Kirby Reed, and lent her voice to the video games Until Dawn and Kingdom Hearts. She is predeceased by her brother, Jansen, who passed away in February 2023 from 'an enlarged heart' at the age of 28.Panettiere said that she felt like she 'lost half of her soul' following his death, and revealed that the stress of his loss resulted in her body 'ballooning out,' which left her in a 'really bad' and 'destructive' place.The tragic news of her death comes just months after her memoir, This is Me: A Reckoning, became a New York Times bestseller. In the book, Panettiere described how she contended with fame and handled the difficulties in her life. She had suffered from drug addiction, beginning when she was just 15 years old. At the time, she claimed she started taking 'happy pills' in an effort to make her seem more 'peppy' during interviews.Her addiction then became worse while she was battling postpartum depression following the birth of her daughter Kaya in 2014. This is a breaking news story.