Police in Greenville, South Carolina, have closed their investigation into Hayden Panettiere’s death without filing charges, more than two months after the actress died from an accidental overdose involving fentanyl and other drugs.
The Greenville Police Department announced Wednesday that the case was closed following its investigation and the medical examiner’s findings. Panettiere, 36, was found unresponsive at a Greenville residence on Aug. 16, 2026, and pronounced dead at the scene.
The Greenville County Coroner’s Office determined in September that Panettiere died from the toxic effects of fentanyl, 4-ANPP, alprazolam, methocarbamol and quetiapine. Her death was classified as accidental, and the autopsy found no traumatic injuries that contributed to it.
Investigators had also previously said they found no evidence of foul play or suspicious circumstances surrounding her death.
The local closure does not necessarily mark the end of the broader investigation surrounding the drugs found in Panettiere’s system.
Federal authorities, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, had been examining whether Panettiere obtained illicit or counterfeit pills before her death. Investigators were also reviewing years of messages involving alleged black-market pill purchases as they worked to identify where the drugs came from and whether they could be traced to a supplier.
Federal agents searched Panettiere’s Los Angeles home nine days after her death under a warrant seeking evidence related to illicit narcotics. Investigators were reportedly focused on whether she had obtained what was described as counterfeit oxycodone and whether any pills could be connected to fentanyl.
The Greenville Police Department’s announcement did not address that federal inquiry, and it remains unclear whether federal authorities have also closed their investigation.
Panettiere’s on-again, off-again boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, and his brother Zach were at the residence when she died. A police report said Brian Hickerson showed officers a bag containing medications Panettiere had been taking. Neither man has been charged in connection with her death.
Panettiere became one of television’s most recognizable young stars after playing Claire Bennet on NBC’s Heroes before starring as country singer Juliette Barnes on Nashville. Her film credits included Remember the Titans, Scream 4and Scream VI.
She had also spoken publicly about addiction, postpartum depression, and the pressures she experienced after entering the entertainment industry as a child. Her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, was released earlier this year.
The Greenville police decision brings the South Carolina investigation to a close, with Panettiere’s death classified as an accidental overdose and no criminal charges filed.
Whether the separate federal effort to trace the drugs that contributed to her death is also over has not been publicly disclosed.
