Hayden Panettiere's boyfriend Brian Hickerson was briefly detained and his brother arrested for disorderly conduct at a South Carolina restaurant, less than a month after the actress died at 36.
Greenville police officers responded to Wild Wing Café on the evening of September 12 after a reported assault inside the restaurant, USA TODAY reported. Officers arrived around 9:10 p.m. and detained multiple patrons while they investigated. Brian Hickerson was among those held but was released at the scene without charges.
His brother Zach Hickerson did not walk away so easily. Police determined Zach was "highly intoxicated" and had begun yelling profanities in public. Officers took him into custody for disorderly conduct and transported him to the Greenville County Detention Center.
Paparazzi video shared by TMZ on September 13 appeared to show Zach Hickerson outside the Greenville jail shortly after his release. He used the moment to push back on public scrutiny the brothers have faced since Panettiere's death on August 16.
"This is the problem with y'all putting stuff on the internet," Zach told the cameras. "People fill in their own holes, and they want to attack people for no reason."
He added that the rumors had taken a toll.
"It's just super frustrating all that we've been through and all the rumors that get started and then people believe them, and then they attack as a result of the rumors."
When pressed for details, he offered little. "I'll clarify eventually," he said.
Brian Hickerson, meanwhile, appeared to direct frustration at law enforcement itself. Fox News reported that he said, "GPD leaked it when my girlfriend died," referencing the Greenville Police Department and Panettiere's death.
The bar incident landed barely four weeks after Panettiere was found unresponsive inside a South Carolina apartment. Brian and Zach Hickerson were the ones who discovered her and called 911, according to a police report previously obtained by USA TODAY.
Zach Hickerson described the sequence in a TMZ interview published August 21. He said he had gone to church that morning and tried calling both Brian and Panettiere afterward. When neither answered, he drove to the Airbnb where they were staying.
"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," Zach said. "When we went in and tried to wake Hayden up for lunch, we realized she was unconscious."
Brian administered Narcan, a medication used to reverse opioid overdoses, while the brothers jointly performed CPR with 911 on speaker until fire and EMS crews arrived, Zach said. "At that point we watched as they tried every measure possible to save her life."
A police report detailing Panettiere's final moments noted a difference in how the two brothers reacted. A Greenville police officer wrote that Zach appeared "very emotional" while EMS worked on Panettiere, but that Brian "did not become emotional until EMS declared her officially deceased," AP News reported. Paramedics declared Panettiere dead at 2:31 p.m.
An autopsy found no signs of trauma, and police said they saw no signs of foul play. But the cause of death remains under investigation. Autopsy and toxicology results could take up to three months.
Brian Hickerson's history with Panettiere casts a long shadow. The two began dating in 2018. In 2020, Hickerson was arrested on domestic violence allegations. He later pleaded no contest to two felony counts of injuring Panettiere and was sentenced to 45 days in jail, four years of probation, and 52 domestic violence classes.
Despite that record, the two were photographed together by paparazzi in the months before her death, fueling speculation that they had reconciled. Panettiere, best known for her role in the television series "Heroes," had written about the relationship in her memoir.
Brian Hickerson's attorney, Sloan Ellis, released a statement on August 20, four days after Panettiere's death, that acknowledged the ongoing investigation while offering little detail.
"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. Out of respect for Hayden's loved ones and the ongoing investigation, there will be no further comment at this time."
Representatives for Panettiere, however, struck a different tone. Fox News reported that her representatives said there is "much more to this story than what is currently being discussed publicly" and that those closest to Panettiere "are actively cooperating with the ongoing investigation to help ensure that the truth comes to light and that justice is properly served."
The DEA has joined the investigation into Panettiere's death, adding a federal dimension to a case that local authorities initially described as showing no foul play.
What triggered the altercation at Wild Wing Café remains unclear. Police have not said who else was involved beyond the Hickerson brothers, and no details have emerged about the other patrons who were detained. Whether any of them face charges is unknown.
Panettiere had battled health problems in the months before her death, and her struggles with addiction were well documented. The autopsy finding of no trauma leaves the toxicology results as the most critical outstanding piece of the puzzle. Until those results arrive, the official cause of death remains open.
Zach Hickerson's promise to "clarify eventually" has not yet been fulfilled. Brian Hickerson's attorney has not publicly commented on the September 12 bar incident.
A 36-year-old woman is dead. Her boyfriend has a felony domestic violence conviction on his record. Federal investigators are now involved. And less than a month later, the two men who found her body are making headlines at a bar. The public deserves answers, and so far, the people closest to Hayden Panettiere have offered remarkably few.
