Hayden Panettiere’s Abusive Lover Called Out for Drug Use in Court Just 3 Days Before Her Death — As DEA Overdose Probe Heats Up

Hayden Panettiere's on-and-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson was confronted about his suspected drug usage just three days before the late actress died on August 16.

Hickerson, 37, appeared in court on August 13 for a hearing after he filed a request on July 20 to erase domestic violence convictions from his record.

According to People, the South Carolina native alleged he fulfilled the conditions of his probation, however, prosecutors opposed his petition.

They cited his alleged constant drug use, and two different arrests that took place in Los Angeles in 2025 as the reasons to deny his expunge request.

In 2021, Hickerson — who dated the Nashville actress on and off from 2018 until her passing — pleaded no contest to two felony counts of injuring Panettiere.

He was sentenced to 45 days in jail, four years' probation, and was ordered to pay $500 in fines, as well as attend domestic violence classes.

Neither Hickerson nor his attorney attended the hearing earlier this month.

At the hearing, prosecutors argued Hickerson looked “quite high on what appears to be a stimulant” and appeared “very — very clearly not sober” in a recent interview.

Hickerson spoke to TMZ’s Charlie Neff back in May, with the district attorney stating he “speaks for 15 minutes about the abuse that’s been documented in his victim’s bestselling book, and he makes several admissions about that.”

Panettiere dropped her memoir, This Is Me: Reckoning, earlier this spring where she discussed the alleged abuse and emotional pain she suffered at the hands of Hickerson.

According to the outlet, the prosecution claimed Hickerson’s demeanor in the chat was important to his request because of his lawyer’s representation that he's “seeking this expungement because he is now sober.”

“The defendant picked up a case a year ago. I think it was diverted, but he was high and arrested at a local restaurant in West Hollywood," the DA said, referring to Hickerson's August, 3, 2025, arrest at Barney’s Beanery.

Hickerson was also apprehended on August 6, 2025, and charged with one misdemeanor count of being under the influence of a controlled substance. He was then ordered to complete 10 Narcotics Anonymous sessions and he reportedly finished the classes this past January.

Panettiere died at a home in South Carolina last week, with Hickerson and his brother, Zach, present at the scene when she passed away. The Scream 6 star was found unresponsive following an apparent cardiac arrest and a suspected drug overdose, with Narcan also being discovered at the residence.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) also recently joined the investigation into her sudden death.