South Carolina police announced Wednesday that actor Hayden Panettiere’s death has been ruled an accident and the case is now closed.
“Based on the medical examiner’s determination and the findings of the investigation, Hayden Panettiere’s death has been ruled an accidental death,” Greenville police said, noting that the investigation has concluded.
Panettiere, 36, who stars in the TV series “Heroes” and “Nashville,” was found unresponsive at a South Carolina apartment complex on August 16.
Last month, the Greenville County Coroner’s Office ruled her death an accident caused by the toxic effects of multiple drugs: fentanyl, 4-ANPP, alprazolam, methocarbamol and quetiapine.
The coroner said there were no signs of trauma that may have contributed to her death. Police also said they found no signs of foul play during the initial response and investigation.
Panettiere, who has publicly discussed her battle with drug addiction, was in rehab just weeks ago, according to the coroner’s report.
Panettiere’s on-again, off-again boyfriend Brian Hickerson was at the apartment complex when she died. He showed officers a bag of “drugs” he said she was taking at the time, according to the police report.
After the coroner’s report was released, Panettiere’s mother Leslie Vogel called her daughter a “fighter” who “has been transparent about her addiction and her numerous attempts at recovery demonstrate her determination to live a healthy life.”
Vogel also said at the time that she had “never heard Hayden talk about fentanyl.”
A source familiar with the investigation previously told NBC News that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is also investigating. The agency typically investigates the drugs involved in the case, how they were obtained and whether any laws were violated by purchasing the drugs.
Panettiere entered Hollywood as a child star and later forged her own path, starring in films such as “Remember the Titans,” “Ice Princess” and “Let It Go: All or Nothing.”
In her memoir, she details how her life began to spiral after giving birth to a daughter with Ukrainian heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko in 2014. She writes in the book that she began drinking heavily to cope with postpartum depression and distance from Klitschko.
In 2018, she underwent rehabilitation and gave custody of her children to Klitschko.
In the book, she also discusses coping with pain and grief after the death of her brother, Jansen Panettiere, from an undiagnosed heart disease in 2023.