DEA Focuses on Years of Text Messages Between Hayden Panettiere and Alleged Drug Dealer

Federal agents investigating the August 16 death of actress Hayden Panettiere are focused on a years-long text message thread between the 36-year-old and an alleged drug dealer, according to a source involved in the investigation cited by TMZ, which first reported the detail. That source described "a slew of messages about drugs," with Panettiere and the dealer allegedly specific about purchasing black market pills.

The Drug Enforcement Administration believes Panettiere died after taking an oxycodone pill laced with fentanyl, TMZ reported. According to the outlet, she took several pills during a flight from Los Angeles to South Carolina the day before she died, and the texts stretch up until the week of her death.

Toxicology results have not been released. TMZ reported they are not expected for at least a few weeks, meaning the official cause of death remains unconfirmed even as investigators build their case around the messages.

Panettiere was found unresponsive in a rented Greenville, South Carolina apartment by Zach Hickerson, the brother of her on-and-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson, according to a police report obtained by Page Six. Brian Hickerson turned over a bag of Panettiere's medications to police after she was pronounced dead, the report says. Investigators believe the bag could contain additional pills laced with fentanyl.

Hickerson's Status

Brian Hickerson has met with DEA agents and is cooperating with the investigation, according to TMZ and a report from celebtattler citing the outlet. He has not been accused of a crime and has not been charged in connection with Panettiere's death, a status confirmed in reporting from the Times of India's entertainment desk, which noted explicitly that "authorities have not identified a suspected supplier or confirmed that drugs caused Panettiere's death."

Some coverage, including video packages referenced by the Times of India, has leaned heavily into speculation about Hickerson's role and his history. The underlying reporting from TMZ indicates the DEA's actual investigative focus is the drug supply chain, not Hickerson personally.

Hickerson does have a documented legal history separate from this case. He pleaded no contest to two counts of injuring a partner in 2021 and was sentenced to 45 days in jail and four years of probation, according to celebtattler's reporting. His probation expired August 1, 2026, and he asked a judge to expunge the record. A judge denied that request on August 13, three days before Panettiere was found dead.

Panettiere's mother, Lesley Vogel, has publicly blamed Hickerson for her daughter's death. She told the Daily Mail his account of events was "full of holes" and has called for a thorough police investigation, describing their relationship as a toxic, codependent one. Hickerson has not addressed those specific claims publicly beyond a brief statement through his attorney. Because this is a direct factual dispute between named parties, and no charges or findings have resolved it, both accounts should be read as competing claims rather than settled fact.

What's Actually Confirmed

The autopsy found no signs of trauma, according to reporting cited by the Daily Mirror. Narcan, the opioid overdose reversal medication, was found at the scene and was reportedly administered without success. Panettiere had spoken openly for years about her struggles with alcohol and opiate addiction.

Neighbors near her former Los Angeles residence told TMZ they had seen three individuals, two women and a man, making brief, repeated visits over the years, arriving separately and carrying small bags. They suspected the visitors were drug dealers. One of them reportedly showed up during the week Panettiere died.

A representative for Panettiere told Page Six the investigation "is still ongoing" and called the case "complex," adding that law enforcement has not disclosed who is being targeted.

No arrests have been made. The DEA has not named a suspected supplier. Until toxicology results come back and investigators either identify or fail to identify the person who sold Panettiere the fatal pill, the text messages remain the centerpiece of an investigation that has produced no charges against anyone.