Hayden Panettiere Was 'Terrified' of Boyfriend Brian Hickerson, Claims Neighbor: 'This Predator Was in Our Community'

Hayden Panettiere’s former neighbor is speaking out about how “terrified” the actress was during her troubled relationship with Brian Hickerson.

On Wednesday, August 19, West Hollywood resident Mia Terrazzas, who said she lived near Panettiere, recalled calling 911 numerous times after witnessing "disturbances" at the actress’ apartment.

“This predator was in our community. He never stopped living at her place. There were times he ripped apart her bathroom, where he just took a sledgehammer at 5 in the morning,” Terrazzas told Inside Edition.

When asked whether she believed domestic violence had taken place inside the home, Terrazzas pointed to incidents she said she personally witnessed.

“I saw her leave, I think twice, in a gurney being taken away, and didn't know what was occurring at that time, but she appeared to be injured,” she said.

Terrazzas also shared a photo of a notice that was reportedly posted at the property by the Homeowners Association in 2025.

The notice allegedly warned residents to call 911 if Hickerson was seen at the complex. According to Terrazzas, the signs were taken down about a week later.

Hickerson was sentenced to 45 days in jail in 2021 after pleading no contest to two counts of domestic battery involving Panettiere. He was also banned from the apartment complex where she lived. Panettiere and Hickerson began their on-and-off relationship in 2018. Their romance later became marked by allegations of abuse and several legal issues.

As OK! previously reported, Hickerson was arrested in Wyoming on February 14, 2020, after he allegedly punched Panettiere during an argument.

The pair split around July 2020 following his domestic violence arrest. They appeared to go their separate ways for good after a public physical altercation in March 2022, outside the Sunset Marquis hotel in West Hollywood.

However, sources have claimed that the former couple reconnected earlier this year after Hickerson allegedly asked to stay at Panettiere’s home.

"All was well up until a week ago when she went kind of silent, and then she passed away,” a source explained. “She had a lot to live for. She had plans to go on a girls’ trip. She was going to see her daughter in Europe. But [in] the last week, things had changed and Brian had inserted himself into her life."

Panettiere shares her only child, Kaya, with former fiancé Wladimir Klitschko, who lives in Ukraine. The starlet had previously given Klitschko primary custody of their daughter.

Other sources have claimed that Panettiere kept her renewed connection with Hickerson private from several people close to her.

"If Brian was back in her life, then it was something she was hiding because she wasn’t speaking about it with many of her friends," a source told Page Six.

The insider suggested that Panettiere may have felt uncomfortable discussing the relationship after previously speaking publicly about the difficult period she experienced with Hickerson.

"If you’ve gone through some dark times with people, and spoken about it, then there can be shame if you get back together with that same person,” they added. “So maybe that was why she hadn’t mentioned it to us."

According to another insider, people close to Panettiere believed Hickerson had once again become a presence in her life.

"Brian was with her at the time of her death," an insider told Us Weekly. "He had inserted himself into her life and was surveilling her."

Panettiere died on August 16 at age 36 after she was found unresponsive at a residence in Greenville, S.C. Authorities have said the investigation remains active, and the cause and manner of her death remain pending further investigation.