Hayden Panettiere's boyfriend Brian Hickerson showed police her medication after death, report says

Hayden Panettiere's on-and-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson was with the actress when she died and later showed responding officers a bag of medication she had been taking, according to a police incident report obtained by NBC News.

Panettiere, 36, was found unresponsive and in cardiac arrest at an apartment complex in Greenville, South Carolina, on Sunday, August 16. Emergency medical personnel attempted to revive her, but she was pronounced dead at 2:32 pm local time.

According to the police report, Hickerson and his brother, Zach, were at the Judson Mill Lofts when officers arrived. The responding officer said Zach was "very emotional" while emergency workers were treating Panettiere. Hickerson, meanwhile, reportedly did not become visibly emotional until after Panettiere was pronounced dead.

The report states that Hickerson then showed officers a "bag of medication" that Panettiere had been taking. It does not establish what the medication was or whether it played any role in her death.

The circumstances surrounding Panettiere's death remain under investigation. An autopsy has been completed, but the Greenville County Coroner's Office said there were no signs of trauma that would have contributed to her death. Her official cause and manner of death remain pending, with toxicology results expected to take approximately eight weeks, although they could arrive sooner.

Dispatch audio reviewed by PEOPLE reportedly included references to an apparent overdose and cardiac arrest, but authorities have not officially determined that an overdose was the cause of death. Police have also said that the preliminary investigation has found no signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances.

Hickerson's presence at the scene is particularly notable because of his history with Panettiere. The pair dated on and off between 2018 and 2021, and Panettiere detailed allegations of physical and emotional abuse during their relationship in her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, published in May.

Hickerson was arrested following allegations involving Panettiere and later pleaded no contest to charges related to domestic violence. He served 33 days of a 45-day county jail sentence in 2021. Shortly before Panettiere's death, a judge reportedly rejected his request to have his previous felony charges reduced or expunged.

Hickerson later acknowledged the abusive behaviour described by Panettiere in her memoir, telling TMZ, "I did it. I did it." He also said after their relationship ended that Panettiere was better off without him and that they were no longer romantically involved, although they maintained what he described as mutual respect.

Panettiere's death remains under active investigation, and the available police report does not establish that Hickerson was responsible for her death or that the medication he showed officers caused or contributed to it. The official cause of death will not be determined until the remaining medical and toxicology investigations are completed.