Hayden Panettiere’s cause of death revealed
The 36-year-old's death has been ruled an accident, and no signs of trauma were identified that would have contributed to her death.
Hayden Panettiere died from the toxic effects of fentanyl, Xanax and other drugs in her system, the Greenville County Coroner’s Office confirmed on Tuesday.
Listen to this article
The actress was found dead at a luxury Airbnb in South Carolina last month.
The 36-year-old's death has been ruled an accident, and no signs of trauma were identified that would have contributed to her death.
In an official statement, the coroner said: “The cause of death has been ruled as toxic effects of fentanyl, 4-ANPP, Alprazolam, methocarbamol, and Quetiapine.”
Methocarbamol is a prescription muscle relaxant, and quetiapine is an antipsychotic medication commonly used to treat particular mental health conditions.
Read more: Actress Hayden Panettiere, star of TV shows Heroes and Nashville, dies aged 36
Read more: Who is Brian Hickerson? Hayden Panettiere's on-off boyfriend arrested
Emergency responders "initiated advanced cardiac life support measures; however, resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful", according to the coroner's office.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid which has been responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans over just the past five years.
The powerful opioid is 50 times stronger than heroin and just a few grains of the substance can be fatal.
She is believed to have taken black market prescription drugs and one of the pills is believed to have been laced with the killer drug.
Police are believed to be closing in on a 'long time drug dealer' who sold her prescription drugs including oxycodone.
The day before her death, she flew from LA to South Carolina with her on-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson.
Police are trying to trace the fatal pill back to the person who allegedly sold it to her.
Hickerson reportedly met with investigators from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) last week.
During her life the actress had been open about her struggles with substance abuse.
She revealed she had a secret opioid addiction and she said she turned to alcohol to cope with post-natal depression in 2014.
A year after giving birth, she went into rehab and returned for further treatment in 2021.