Star Actress Hayden Panettiere Dies After Taking a Pill Laced With Fentanyl

• Authorities believe Hayden Panettiere took a single pill laced with fentanyl on the day she died, aged 36, in South Carolina
• Law enforcement sources say investigators are zeroing in on a long-term drug dealer the actress allegedly met before her fatal trip
• Panettiere's ex, Brian Hickerson, who was present at the apartment when she died, has already spoken with DEA officials

Hayden Panettiere, the actress best known for her roles in Heroes and Nashville, died after swallowing a single pill believed to be oxxycodone secretly laced with fentanyl, multiple law enforcement sources have told TMZ.

She passed away on 16 August in South Carolina, just days before what would have been her 37th birthday.

Investigators believe Panettiere visited a "long-term drug dealer" in Los Angeles before boarding a flight to South Carolina, where she was found dead.

The pill she took proved fatal because it contained fentanyl, an opioid roughly 50 times more potent than heroiin. Authorities have not yet confirmed her official cause of death, noting that toxicology results could take up to 12 weeks to finalise.

DEA zeroing in on alleged dealer

Drug Enforcement Administration offices in both Los Angeles and South Carolina are now actively investigating the case. Sources say law enforcement is closing in on a suspect believed to have supplied the pill that killed the actress.

Panettiere's former partner, Brian Hickerson, who travelled with her on the flight and was present in the South Carolina apartment when she died, has already met with DEA officials. Hickerson previously told police that the actress had a "bag of medication" with her at the time.

What he disclosed to investigators beyond that remains unclear. Police records from the Greenville City Police reportedly listed nine different types of substances, though the specific drugs were redacted.

Panettiere's long battle with addiction

The actress had been candid about her struggles in her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, published just three months before her death.

She wrote openly about alcohol dependency, opioid addiction, and postpartum depression.

Panettiere revealed that her introduction to pills came as young as 15, when someone on her team gave her what they described as "happy pills" ahead of a red carpet appearance. "They were to make me peppy during interviews," she told People magazine in 2022.

"I had no idea that this was not an appropriate thing, or what door that would open for me when it came to my addiction."

Her substance use worsened as she grew older. "As I got older, the drugs and alcohol became something I almost couldn't live without," she admitted.

After giving birth to her daughter Kaya in 2014, whom she shares with former heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko, Panettiere turned to alcohol while battling postpartum depression.

The drinking took a severe physical toll, eventually leading to jaundice and serious liver damage. She disclosed in her book that a doctor warned her she would be dead within five years if she did not stop.

Spiritual leader Emmanuel Alogbo dies

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the Cherubim & Seraphim Movement Church Worldwide announced the death of its Spiritual Father, His Most Eminence Emmanuel Alogbo, at age 93.

The church revealed he died peacefully at his Lagos residence in the early hours of July 30, 2026, surrounded by family and staff.

In a statement, the church described Alogbo as a devoted servant of God and declared seven days of prayer sessions in his honour.