According to the Hollywood star’s pals, Hickerson was to blame for her struggles, as a source previously claimed the relationship had “been bad news from the start.” The pair were said to have gone out “drinking” and gotten “sloppy.”
“He’s been enabling her all along,” the insider said at the time, who also claimed, “Brian’s no good for her, and she’s beginning to see that. She’s got to move on and focus on getting sober. Otherwise, something really bad could happen.”
Panettiere had taken a flight out of Los Angeles to Greenville, South Carolina, on August 15 with Hickerson, just one day before her death. The 911 call on the day of her passing came at 1:50 p.m. local time, when a dispatcher alerted responding units to an “unresponsive female” in “cardiac arrest.”
EMS were later heard on the radio working on the patient, who they believed had suffered an “overdose,” and CPR was “in progress.” Panettiere was pronounced dead inside the apartment at 2:32 p.m local time.