Police Seen at Brian Hickerson’s Residence Days After Hayden Panettiere’s Death

Officers spent time at the Greenville property on two separate occasions within a matter of hours, prompting speculation about what triggered the visits.

Police were seen arriving at the family home of Brian Hickerson, the on-and-off boyfriend of late actress Hayden Panettiere, on Tuesday morning, August 19, just days after it emerged he was present when she was pronounced dead.

Hayden Panettiere attends Los Angeles Premiere Of Netflix's New Film "Blonde" at TCL Chinese Theatre on September 13, 2022 in Hollywood, California. | Source: Getty Images

Page Six obtained photos showing two cars belonging to the Greenville Police Department parked outside the property owned by Betty Ellison, Brian's grandmother, at 8:20 a.m.

An officer approached the residence — the same property where both Zach, 38, and Brian, 37, were photographed earlier that day — and knocked repeatedly on the front door but got no answer. Her colleague then tried the side entrance.

Hayden Panettiere and Brian Hickerson are seen on January 31, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. | Source: Getty Images

The officers left after roughly three minutes. According to Page Six, Zach was inside at the time. Authorities returned about ninety minutes later and headed around the back to "conduct a welfare check," though they did not name who the check involved.

They departed again around ten minutes later. Betty's four-bedroom house, its blinds drawn throughout the morning, sits roughly five miles from the Judson Mill Lofts apartment complex where Hayden, 36, died Sunday afternoon of a suspected "overdose."

TMZ later reported that police are carrying out a death investigation to determine whether criminal conduct played any role in Hayden's sudden passing. However, GPD had initially said the preliminary findings showed no signs of "foul play or suspicious circumstances."

A police spokesperson also told People that officers "responded to a call for a welfare check at a home belonging to Brian Hickerson's family on Wednesday morning. The call is unrelated to the Hayden Panettiere death investigation and did not require an incident report."

Brian — whose years-long relationship with the actress was marked by multiple allegations of domestic violence, several arrests, and even criminal pleas — was reportedly asleep in the bedroom when Zach entered the unit and discovered Hayden "unresponsive" in a chair in the living room.

First responders arrived after the brothers dialed 911. They tried to revive Hayden but were unable to. She was pronounced dead at 2:32 p.m., at age 36.

According to an incident report obtained by People, Zach described Hayden to police as his "brother's girlfriend," though the precise nature of her relationship with Brian remains unclear.

Hayden Panettiere and Brian Hickerson are seen at the celebration of life event for Panettiere's younger brother Jansen Panettiere on March 8, 2023 in Palisades, New York. | Source: Getty Images

Brian, who has struggled with addiction, then showed officers a "bag of medication" the "Heroes" star had allegedly been taking. As first responders "initiated advanced cardiac life support measures" on Hayden, Zach grew "very emotional."

Brian, by contrast, only broke down once she was declared dead. The development comes shortly after Hayden's body was released to her family on Tuesday, August 18, and transferred to a mortuary.

Hayden Panettiere is seen on May 19, 2026 in New York City. | Source: Getty Images

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Though the two were estranged, Hayden's mother, Lesley Vogel, spoke with NBC News following her daughter's death. "We have been trying to get rid of [Hickerson] for quite some time," she said.

She added, "There is a lot of history in the past that Brian has enabled Hayden many times and this is why her father and I had been concerned for a long time about him."

Hayden is survived by her 11-year-old daughter, Kaya, whose father is the actress's ex-fiancé, Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko.