Hayden Panettiere’s estranged mother, Lesley Vogel, has raised questions over the final hours of her life, claiming the account given by her daughter’s boyfriend is ‘full of holes’.
The actress died on August 16, aged 36, at a residence in Greenville, South Carolina, with first responders initially reporting a possible overdose after finding Panettiere in cardiac arrest.
TMZ then reported that opioid overdose medication Narcan was present in the apartment, with the device used to administer it found on a mattress.
On-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother Zach are understood to have been present in the building, with Hickerson asleep in the bedroom at the time, while Zach was the one to first discover the actress before they called 911.
The Greenville County Coroner’s Office confirmed that resuscitation efforts on Panettiere ‘were unsuccessful’, with epinephrine reportedly used at the scene.
‘An autopsy was completed today,’ a statement from the coroner to BBC News said on Monday. ‘At autopsy no signs of trauma were discovered that would have contributed to the death.
‘The cause and manner of death remain pending further investigation and the completion of additional studies.’
Now Vogel, 70, has spoken out about what was said about Panettiere’s final hours with Hickerson – who she previously said the family had been ‘trying to get rid of for quite some time’ in her initial statement to the media – questioning the timeline she says he gave the police.
The US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has since joined the investigation, but Hickerson has not been accused of any crime in connection with his ex-girlfriend’s death, with his lawyer saying on Thursday that there would be no further comment while it continued.
According to Vogel, Hickerson told police that Nashville actress Panettiere had been doing her make-up at around 10.30am when he went out, before he later returned and took a nap – without any mention of him seeing or speaking to his girlfriend again, she claimed.
At some point afterwards, Vogel alleges Hickerson said his brother Zach arrived, with Panettiere then found unresponsive.
But Vogel is questioning the timeline, telling the Daily Mail: ‘I don’t know how you can take a nap near someone who’s dying and not realise something’s wrong. How do you do that?
‘When the EMTs came it was for a cardiac arrest. People in cardiac arrest aren’t just lying still. They make noise.’
She also shared her own theory for what she thinks may have unfolded, although there is no evidence publicly available to substantiate it.
Vogel said she ‘wants justice’ for her daughter, and pressed officers shortly after her daughter’s death on whether the circumstances would be investigated further.
The former actress, who was no-contact with Panettiere at the time of her death, had been portrayed by the Heroes star in her May 2026 memoir This is Me: A Reckoning as more of a manager than a mother, after she put her in showbusiness as a baby.
Panettiere went on to land roles in dozens of commercials and the soaps One Life to Live and Guiding Light, as well as the voice role of Dot in Pixar’s A Bug’s Life, all by the time she turned eight.
Vogel acknowledged that she was demanding as both a parent and acting coach but denied that she was abusive or forced her daughter to work.
‘I was strong, definitely, but I was not abusive by any stretch of the imagination,’ she told the Daily Mail.
She also said she ‘never expected her to be a professional actress’ and was initially planning on simply putting any earnings into a college fund for her.
Vogel explained that Panettiere began to change when Hickerson entered her life, calling their relationship ‘codependent’, and saying that their toxic bond was ‘so much more powerful than people understand’.
Hickerson pleaded no contest to two felony counts of injuring a spouse or girlfriend in 2021. He was sentenced to 45 days in jail for injuring the actress, as well as four years of formal probation, 52 domestic violence classes, $500 in restitution and a five-year protective order.
The couple was first linked in 2018, with Vogel previously claiming that Hickerson had ‘enabled’ Panettiere in the past.
He had come into her life following the breakdown of her relationship with ex-fiancé Wladimir Klitschkoz, with whom she shares daughter Kaya, and the family had been concerned about their relationship for a long time, which Vogel said was ongoing, despite the pair publicly distancing themselves – reportedly on the advice of her team.
‘I would talk to both of them about it,’ Vogel added to the Daily Mail. ‘I would say, “This is a codependent relationship, and it is not healthy for either of you.”
‘My sadness is that everything that I did, her father did, friends did, business people did – we could not break that codependent bond.’
Hickerson’s attorney Sloan Ellis previously addressed Panettiere’s death on behalf of his client on Thursday, saying in a statement: ‘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.’
In response to her mother’s latest comments, Panettiere’s rep told Metro on Sunday: ‘The investigation is ongoing and we’re hopeful justice will soon be served.’
Zach Hickerson also made his own statement, telling TMZ that there were ‘a lot of assumptions, speculations and accusations currently swirling’, but that Panettiere’s friends and family ‘deserve the truth’.
Zach added to the outlet: ‘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 also said that the late star’s loved ones should be allowed to mourn her death without any ‘additional noise’.
‘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.’
When approached by Metro, Brian Hickerson’s lawyer declined to give additional comment.