Hayden Panettiere’s On-and-Off Boyfriend Brian Hickerson Was with Actress in South Carolina When She Died: Source

Hayden Panettiere died in South Carolina on Sunday, Aug. 16 at age 36. She was with her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, according to a law enforcement source.

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Hayden Panettiere died in South Carolina on Sunday, Aug. 16 at age 36

Her on-and-off again boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, was with her at the time, a law enforcement source tells PEOPLE

The pair’s turbulent relationship began in 2018. She was last seen with him publicly in March at LAX

Hayden Panettiere was with her on-again, off-again boyfriend Brian Hickerson when she died.

According to the Greenville Police Department, the actress was found “unresponsive” at a residence in Greenville, South Carolina, at around 1:50 p.m. local time on Sunday, Aug. 16. The Greenville County Coroner’s Office said in a statement that first responders and Emergency Medical Services initiated “advanced cardiac life support” measures. “However, resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful, and the individual was pronounced deceased at 2:32 PM,” the statement read. She was 36.

A law enforcement source tells PEOPLE that Hickerson was with Panettiere at the time of her death. It’s unclear whether he called 911.

A spokesperson for the Greenville Police Department previously said in a statement that “an acquaintance of Ms. Panettiere placed the 911 call.” The same spokesperson also noted that “the preliminary investigation has not indicated any signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances.”

According to dispatch audio obtained by PEOPLE, officials were heard discussing an “overdose” and “cardiac arrest” around the time of Panettiere’s death. No official cause of death has been released. The Coroner’s Office did confirm that an autopsy was completed on Monday.

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Panettiere was most recently seen with Hickerson in March at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). They were first linked in 2018. She later described that period as “a very dark and complicated time in my life,” as she was privately struggling with addiction to alcohol and opioids.

“I wanted to party, I wanted to do everything I wasn’t supposed to do. Acting was my life, but I felt so bad about myself that I lost trust in myself. And that is very detrimental. The idea of not having a responsibility was very appealing at the time,” she told PEOPLE in 2022.

During their relationship, Hickerson was arrested numerous times, on charges including domestic violence in 2019 and 2020.

Panettiere issued a statement following his 2020 arrest on eight domestic violence charges. “I am coming forward with the truth about what happened to me in the hope that my story will empower others in abusive relationships to get the help they need and deserve,” she said. “I am prepared to do my part to make sure this man never hurts anyone again.”

In 2021, Hickerson pleaded no contest to two felony counts of injuring a partner, related to the 2020 arrest. He was sentenced to 45 days in jail, four years of formal probation, 52 domestic violence classes, $500 in restitution and a five-year protective order.

He spent 13 days in jail. The other charges were dropped. The 2019 case was dismissed.

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Two years later, in 2022, Panettiere spoke about the statement she made in 2020 in an interview with PEOPLE: “I still feel the same way. None of it is OK. But I want to make sure that everybody knows that each person who goes through something like that, they’re on their own journey. No two things are exactly alike.”

She shared that she had reconnected with Hickerson as friends. “None of it is OK, and I want to make sure that everybody knows that,” she said of his behavior. “But I am open to people who are willing to get help and make amends. He’s gone to treatment and done his time. And I’m trying to live in a place of forgiveness.”

Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty; Brian Hickerson/Instagram

“I am trying to live in a place of understanding,” she added. “I think [Brian] has done his time and was willing to get help. I think about the things I have done in my life that people forgave me for. Making amends is a really important thing that you learn in treatment. And it gives you a lot of inner peace.”

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Panettiere’s representative confirmed the news of her death to PEOPLE on Aug. 16.

“It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden,” her father, Alan Panettiere, said in a statement. “She was an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her — and to the millions who watched her onscreen.”

ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty

Her ex-fiancé, Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko, with whom she shared 11-year-old daughter Kaya Evdokia Klitschko, wrote on Instagram that Panettiere “left this world far too soon.”

“Hayden was, although no longer my partner, an important part of my life and the mother of our daughter, Kaya. She built an incredible career through immense talent, while also facing the darker sides of a very demanding industry. Nothing will erase the times we shared or the place she had in our lives.”

“To our daughter Kaya, I will always speak of her mother with respect and make sure she remembers the person she was,” he wrote.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.

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