Federal Probe Targets L.A. Dealer in Hayden Panettiere's Aug. 16 Death
Updated
Updated · Los Angeles Times · Sep 14
Federal Probe Targets L.A. Dealer in Hayden Panettiere's Aug. 16 Death
3 articles · Updated · Los Angeles Times · Sep 14
Summary
DEA agents and local investigators are centering Hayden Panettiere's death investigation on whether she obtained nonprescription pills from a Los Angeles dealer before she died Aug. 16 in Greenville, South Carolina.
Counterfeit oxycodone is a key focus because such pills are often laced with fentanyl; investigators have questioned several people, while the Greenville County coroner said toxicology is still pending and no cause of death has been determined.
Paramedics found Panettiere in cardiac arrest, dispatch audio referenced a possible overdose, Narcan was administered, and she was pronounced dead at 2:31 p.m.; her boyfriend Brian Hickerson gave investigators a bag of medications.
The case mirrors federal investigations after the deaths of Matthew Perry and Mac Miller, both of which led to criminal charges and convictions against people accused of supplying the drugs.