Hayden Panettiere’s mom lifts lid on actress’ eerie final hours
Hayden Panettiere’s estranged mom, Lesley Vogel, pulled back the curtain on the late actress’ final hours in a new interview.
The 70-year-old alleged to the Daily Mail on Saturday that Panettiere’s on-again, off-again boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, told cops how the “Nashville” alum spent the last day of her life.
Hickerson allegedly claimed he left their Airbnb in Greenville, South Carolina, at 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 16, while Panettiere was doing her makeup.
Brian allegedly told police officers that he ran an errand, returned and took a nap without further interaction with Panettiere, according to Vogel.
Vogel claimed Brian went on to tell officials that his brother, Zach Hickerson, knocked at the door and, after Brian answered, Panettiere was found unresponsive — and Vogel believes this account is “full of holes.”
According to TMZ’s previous report, Zach entered the residence and discovered the 36-year-old’s body.
Vogel told the Daily Mail, “I don’t know how you can take a nap near someone who’s dying and not realize something’s wrong. When the EMTs came it was for a cardiac arrest. People in cardiac arrest aren’t just lying still. They make noise.”
She believes Brian “knew she was deceased” and “called his brother and … built this story.”
Zach, for his part, told TMZ last week, “I knocked loudly which apparently woke Brian up from a nap they were both taking on the pull out couch bed in the living room. When we went in and tried to wake Hayden up for lunch, we realized she was unconscious.
“I immediately called 911 and Brian gave her Narcan,” he continued. “We then jointly performed CPR while 911 was on speaker until Fire and EMS arrived. At that point, we watched as they tried every measure possible to save her life.”
Vogel expressed doubt about the presence of Narcan on the scene.
“I do not believe he happened to have two bottles of Narcan on him, like he carried them around in his back pocket,” she said. “I think there will be a discrepancy in the timeline, meaning Brian had to go out and buy the Narcan while he left her there.”
Page Six reached out to Brian’s lawyer, Sloan Ellis, about Vogel’s claims, to which Ellis clarified they would not be commenting beyond their initial statement at this time.
In a statement released last week, Ellis told Page Six, “Hayden’s death remains under investigation and it is important to allow that investigation to proceed. As has been publicly reported, police confirmed there were no signs of foul play.”
The statement continued, “Out of respect for Hayden’s loved ones and the ongoing investigation, there will be no further comment at this time.”
Vogel took aim at Brian in her initial statement regarding Panettiere’s death, which was met with backlash.
“This person in her life that we have been trying to get rid of for quite some time was with her at her death, and that was Brian Hickerson,” she wrote.
Days later, she went on to claim, “Although my daughter and I were estranged, it was not for lack of care or love. It was due to the involvement of a toxic individual who I believe led to her death.”
Vogel gave her first televised interview on “Good Morning America” Monday, saying she issued her daughter an ultimatum in their final conversation after Panettiere said she was going to “be with the person [she] love[d].”
The Golden Globe nominee’s mom said, “I just lost it. I could not believe she had gone that far back, that he had been successful in reeling her back in with all the things he had done to her.”
Brian, notably, pleaded no contest to two felony counts of injuring a spouse or girlfriend in 2021 regarding incidents with Panettiere. The former child star detailed the abusive romance in her “This Is Me: A Reckoning” memoir earlier this year.
If you or someone you care about is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).