A day after Hayden Panettiere’s mother, Lesley Vogel, spoke out about the family’s longstanding concerns with the late actor’s on-again, off-again boyfriend Brian Hickerson, he has shared his first statement. Hayden Panettiere died at the age of 36 on August 16 and an investigation has been launched by the police. As per ABC, the Drug Enforcement Administration has also joined the investigation.

According to TMZ, Brian Hickerson’s attorney Sloan Ellis issued a brief statement regarding the ongoing investigation. “Hayden’s death remains under investigation, and it is important to allow that investigation to proceed. As has been publicly reported, police confirmed there were no signs of foul play. Out of respect for Hayden’s loved ones and the ongoing investigation, there will be no further comment at this time,” read the statement.

Brian and his brother Zack Hickerson were reportedly with Hayden Panettiere around the time of her death in South Carolina. According to earlier reports, Zach found the actor unresponsive at the residence and called 911. Brian was reportedly asleep in another room at the time. Emergency responders attempted to revive Hayden Panettiere, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.

Hayden Panettiere’s death has prompted an ongoing investigation, with authorities working to establish the circumstances surrounding what happened. Initial reports have said that there were no visible signs of trauma, while the cause of death has not been publicly established.

 

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In an interview to Entertainment Tonight, Vogel had said, “Although my daughter and I were estranged, it was not for lack of care or love. It was due to the involvement of a toxic individual who I believe led to her death.”

While Vogel did not identify the “toxic individual” by name in her statement, she had criticised Hickerson earlier while speaking to NBC News, “This person in her life that we have been trying to get rid of for quite some time was with her at her death. And that was Brian Hickerson.”

Hickerson and Panettiere had a complicated, on-and-off relationship over several years. Their history had previously attracted significant public attention, including domestic violence cases involving Hickerson. Despite their troubled past, the two had remained connected and were reportedly together in the period leading up to Panettiere’s death.

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The actor, best known for her roles in Heroes and Nashville as well as the Scream franchise, born on August 21, 1989, died just days before what would have been her 37th birthday.

In other news, Hayden Panettiere’s former Heroes co-star, Jack Coleman, recently remembered the late actor in an emotional tribute, recalling their time together on the hit series and the bond they shared off screen.

Coleman, who played Noah Bennet, the father of Panettiere’s character Claire Bennet, shared a series of pictures and behind-the-scenes moments from the show on Instagram.

Recalling the first time he met Panettiere while filming the ‘Heroes’ pilot nearly 20 years ago, Coleman said she immediately made him feel like family.

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His note read, “I’m heartbroken. I couldn’t begin to put my thoughts into words until now, and they will be inadequate. I’ve loved Hayden since day one of the pilot of Heroes, 20 years ago, when she introduced herself by shouting “daddy” and throwing her arms around me. From that day on, she called me daddio. She was Haydini, because she was a magician.”

He added, “She was a prodigious talent. During an early scene, a tear rolled down her cheek on the same line, take after take. I marveled at her technique. “It’s not technique,” she corrected me. “I’m not a trained seal. I feel it and the tears just happen to come at that moment.” She was 16.”

Jack Coleman, added in his note, “By 17 she was #1 on IMDB Pro. She was routinely asked obnoxious questions, mostly some version of “when are you going to go off the rails?” Today, we’d recognize those questions for the misogynistic provocations they were. She was hunted. Everywhere she went, there were photographers with 300 millimeter lenses—the kind that can make even the most innocent activity look sinister. Once, when she came to our house, paparazzi hid in the bushes behind our yard and drove onto neighbors’ lawns. They were predatory. No one, especially a teenager, should be targeted that way.”

See Jack Coleman’s post here:

 

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“She brought joy to the set and a photographic memory. Everyone was in awe of her ability to bring it every take. A tiny colossus who loved to laugh. We laughed a lot. That shining face, that megawatt smile, that wasn’t just for the camera. That was her. She glowed. Today I’m filled with sorrow and regret. And anger. But that’s for another time. Right now I want to remember an extraordinary young woman who was blessed and cursed. She was vulnerable. She felt everything. It made her a remarkable actor and susceptible to the heartache and thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to,” he wrote further.

Jack Coleman concluded his note by saying, “I love you, Hayden. I’ll miss you. I’m so sorry you suffered. I’ll remember how happy you were on set and on the European press tour; how you championed Tess when she was being bullied; your commitment to animal welfare and the courage to put yourself in harm’s way to protect them. I only wish you had been given that same protection. Good night, sweet girl. And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.”

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Hayden Panettiere played Claire Bennet in Heroes, which ran from 2006 to 2010. The series followed ordinary people who discovered they had special powers and abilities.

According to the Greenville Police Department, Hayden Panettiere died after an apparent overdose at an apartment in Greenville, South Carolina, on August 16.