Hayden Panettiere died of accidental overdose, coroner says
Actor Hayden Panettiere died from an accidental overdose of several drugs including fentanyl, the Greenville County Coroner's Office in South Carolina said on Tuesday, Sept. 22. She was 36.
The coroner said fentanyl and its chemical byproduct, alprazolam, a muscle relaxer, and a drug used to treat major depression and other serious mental health disorders were found in her system, as reported by Billboard. Coroner Mike Ellis said the autopsy found no signs of trauma that could have led to her death.
Panettiere was found unresponsive in an apartment in Greenville, S.C., on Aug. 16. That date was a Sunday. The apartment was at the Judson Mill Lofts complex, where she was found in cardiac arrest.
Paramedics worked for more than 40 minutes. They performed CPR and other advanced resuscitation efforts before she was declared dead. Greenville Police confirmed on Tuesday that their investigation into her death is continuing.
Her death had been without a confirmed cause for more than a month while toxicology testing was incomplete. The announcement on Sept. 22 provides the first official finding.
Panettiere starred in the television programmes Heroes and Nashville, according to AP. On NBC's Heroes, she played an indestructible cheerleader.
She had spoken openly about her struggles with alcohol and postpartum depression. Her father, Skip Panettiere, confirmed her death to ABC News on the Sunday she died. Her on-and-off boyfriend was at the apartment where she died.
