The brother of Hayden Panettiere's boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, has given a detailed account confirming that Hickerson administered Narcan to the actor after they found her unconscious in a South Carolina townhouse on Sunday. Zach Hickerson shared the account with TMZ to counter what he called "assumptions, speculations and accusations" circulating about the death of the Heroes and Nashville star, which has drawn scrutiny partly due to Brian Hickerson's history of domestic abuse arrests against Panettiere.

According to Zach, he had arranged to meet his brother and Panettiere for lunch after church, and went to the Airbnb in Greenville when they didn't respond to calls or texts. Unable to get inside, he knocked until Brian woke and let him in, at which point they discovered Panettiere unresponsive on a fold-out couch; Brian administered Narcan while Zach called 911, and the pair performed CPR until emergency services arrived but were unable to revive her. A heavily redacted police report noted Brian Hickerson's distress at the scene and that he showed officers a bag of medication Panettiere had reportedly been taking, with a Narcan bottle also found at the scene, fuelling speculation of a possible overdose.