Hayden Panettiere’s inner circle grew so worried about her silence that police were sent to her West Hollywood apartment one week before her death, according to a newly obtained sheriff’s report.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department received a welfare-check request at 10 p.m. On Aug. 9, the report shows. A caller told dispatchers they were “concerned” that a white female at the residence was “not answering the phone,” according to the redacted document.
The woman was Panettiere, 36, a source told the outlet. The “Heroes” alum “had become unresponsive to many people in her circle and there was concern,” the insider said.
When deputies arrived at the apartment, they were reportedly told that the woman “was sick all day and did not feel good,” the report states.
Panettiere’s on-again, off-again boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, answered the door for the officers, the source claimed.
The welfare check was not the only time authorities visited Panettiere’s building that month. Sheriff’s deputies had already responded to her apartment complex on Aug. 4 after reports of a white male in a green polo, sweats and no shoes attempting to enter a unit on the third floor, according to the 911 service report. The unidentified man “left the location” before police arrived, only to be spotted going in and out of the complex hours later.
Officers returned to the building on Sept. 8 regarding an “ongoing issue” with an unidentified white male who was in the garage and “refused to leave,” the report shows. Less than two hours later, authorities made contact with a white male and white female; the male “grabbed some belongings then left.”
The Aug. 9 welfare check came during a period of renewed turmoil in Panettiere’s life. She had secretly entered rehab for “two or three weeks” at a Malibu treatment facility shortly before her death, her father, Skip Panettiere, told the Greenville County Coroner’s Office. She had also reconnected with Hickerson in the weeks leading up to her passing, keeping the relationship hidden from friends out of “shame,” according to reports.
The insider additionally claimed that “after being hospitalized a week before her passing,” Panettiere “informed a friend who came to see her that Brian had taken her phone.”
Hickerson has previously confessed to being abusive toward Panettiere and has been arrested multiple times. He was present at the South Carolina Airbnb where she died on Aug. 16.
The Greenville County Coroner’s Office determined that Panettiere died from the toxic effects of multiple drugs, including fentanyl. She was 36.
The welfare check and subsequent revelations paint a picture of Panettiere’s isolated final days, cut off from friends by an alleged phone seizure and struggling with substance use despite her recent treatment attempt.
Her death has drawn renewed attention to the challenges she faced in her personal life, including her documented history with Hickerson.
Panettiere first rose to fame as a child actress before starring in the NBC superhero drama “Heroes” and later the ABC musical series “Nashville.” She became a prominent voice for postpartum depression awareness after her own public struggles.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).