Zach Hickerson has spoken out publicly for the first time to detail the frantic efforts to save Hayden Panettiere’s life before she was pronounced dead in South Carolina.
The brother of Panettiere’s on-and-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson, 36, gave his account to TMZ on Thursday, five days after the actress was found unresponsive at a Greenville Airbnb on Sunday, August 16. Zach Hickerson described waking at his own Airbnb that morning, attending church, and exchanging messages with Brian about plans for lunch and indoor golf afterward.
“When I left church, I called and texted both of them,” Zach Hickerson said. “When I didn’t reach Brian or Hayden, I just assumed maybe they fell back asleep, so I drove over and went to the Airbnb.” He explained that he knew the building code but not the unit’s door code, so he knocked loudly, which apparently woke Brian from a nap they were both taking on a pull-out couch bed in the living room.
“When we went in and tried to wake Hayden up for lunch, we realized she was unconscious,” Zach Hickerson continued. “I immediately called 911, and Brian gave her Narcan. We then jointly performed CPR while 911 was on speaker until Fire and EMS arrived. At that point we watched as they tried every measure possible to save her life.”
According to the heavily redacted police incident report from the Greenville Police Department, first responders were called to the scene around 1:50 p.m. Following reports of an unresponsive female. Responding officer Matthew Bryan noted that he was met at the residence by both Brian and Zach Hickerson, and that Zach was “very emotional while EMS were working on Hayden.” Paramedics and firefighters performed CPR and emergency cardiac interventions before officially pronouncing Panettiere deceased at 2:31 p.m.
“There are a lot of assumptions, speculations and accusations currently swirling,” Zach Hickerson said, addressing the intense scrutiny surrounding the tragedy. “The truth will come out as the authorities complete and release additional details from the investigation. And that is important because the people who loved and adored Hayden deserve the truth.”
He added: “At this time, I want to clarify my involvement in effort to keep the focus on the fact that we lost one of the most precious individuals on this earth and to allow those that cared about her to mourn without additional noise, chaos and misinformation being created and propagated by the media as well as the public.”
The police report also noted that Brian Hickerson produced a bag of medications Panettiere had been taking, which was turned over to authorities as part of standard protocol. The list of medications is redacted in the released documents. The Greenville County Coroner’s Office confirmed that an autopsy has been completed, revealing no signs of physical trauma or foul play, though an official cause and manner of death remain pending comprehensive toxicology results that typically take several weeks.
Federal agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration have joined local detectives to assist in examining substances found at the location. Police dispatch audio referenced a possible “overdose” and “cardiac arrest,” and sources said that Narcan was found on a mattress at the scene.
Brian Hickerson had broken his silence earlier in the week through his attorney, telling TMZ that “Hayden’s death remains under investigation and it is important to allow that investigation to proceed without speculation.” His Instagram account was deactivated or removed on Monday after his final post was flooded with abusive comments, with users questioning his role in Panettiere’s death.
In the viral moment that preceded this outpouring of statements, Panettiere, 36, had flown from Los Angeles to Greenville with Brian Hickerson on Saturday, August 15. The pair had a tumultuous on-and-off relationship dating back to 2018, marred by multiple domestic violence allegations and arrests. Hickerson pleaded no contest to two felony counts of injuring a spouse or partner in 2021 and served 45 days in jail, followed by four years of probation. In recent months, sources said that friends were “worried” when Panettiere began spending time with Hickerson again, with one insider saying “that relationship and association had led her down a dark path in the past.”
Panettiere had spoken openly about her struggles with addiction, postpartum depression, and the abuse she endured. In her 2026 memoir “This Is Me: A Reckoning,” she addressed the violence in her relationship with Hickerson. Despite their history, the two had been seen together again this year, with Hickerson accompanying Panettiere at Los Angeles International Airport in March when she was using crutches due to what her rep called a temporary nerve condition.
The actress, who rose to fame as a child star on “Guiding Light” before headlining “Heroes” and “Nashville,” was the mother of 11-year-old daughter Kaya with former heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko. She was preceded in death by her younger brother Jansen Panettiere, who died in February 2023 at age 28 from an enlarged heart.