Hayden Panettiere death investigation reveals drugs found with star: Report - USA Today
Blue pressed pills that tested positive for fentanyl were discovered near Hayden Panettiere following her fatal overdose, according to a newly released investigative report.
The pills and a straw were found on a table inside the Greenville, South Carolina, apartment where Panettiere died Aug. 16, according to Greenville News, which obtained the report by Greenville County Medical Examiner. The investigative report also shared that unidentified white powder was found inside a sunglasses case packed in the actress' suitcase.
It was not immediately clear whether the white powder found in her suitcase was tested or identified.
The "Heros" actress had turned "deep purple" when she was found by officials, according to the report.
The findings were released one day after officials disclosed Panettiere's cause of death. The Greenville County Coroner's Office determined that the 36-year-old actress died from the combined "toxic effects of fentanyl, 4-ANPP, Alprazolam, Methocarbamol and Quetiapine."
USA TODAY reached out to Greenville County Medical Examiner for further comments.
No signs of trauma were detected and the "manner of death has been ruled accident," according to the Coroner's Office.
Emergency personnel responded to a report of cardiac arrest at approximately 1:51 p.m. Aug. 16 and found Panettiere unresponsive inside the residence where she had been temporarily staying. Paramedics attempted to resuscitate her, but she was "pronounced deceased at the scene," Greenville Police Sgt. Jonathan Bragg told USA TODAY in a statement.
The more detailed investigative report offered additional information about Panettiere's final hours. A senior deputy coroner responded to the apartment, where the actress had been staying with her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, and his brother, Zach Hickerson.
One of the men told the investigator that he saw Panettiere applying makeup at about 10:30 a.m. before returning to bed, the report said, per Greenville News. The brothers later found her unresponsive on a sofa bed and were unable to wake her, according to the outlet.
Brian Hickerson administered two doses of Narcan, a medication used to reverse opioid overdoses, before calling 911, the report stated. The emergency treatment was unsuccessful.
One of the men reportedly told the investigator that he did not know whether Panettiere had used illicit drugs during the previous two days because "she was very good at hiding them." The report also said she had been in a rehabilitation facility weeks before her death.
Panettiere died five days before her 37th birthday. Her father told the investigator that she planned to celebrate her birthday in Greenville before traveling to Ukraine to visit her daughter, Kaya.
