Hayden Panettiere dies from a single fentanyl-tainted pill, authorities hunt dealer

Hayden Panettiere died on Aug. 16 in a South Carolina residence after ingesting a single pill that investigators believe was oxycodone contaminated with fentanyl, a drug fifty times stronger than heroin. Prior to the fatal dose, she reportedly met her long-term dealer in Los Angeles and then traveled to South Carolina. Federal and state agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration and Greenville City Police, are pursuing the suspected supplier.

Brian Hickerson, her former on-again partner, was present on the flight and at the apartment and has already been questioned by DEA officials. Panettiere had recently detailed her battles with opioid addiction, alcohol misuse, and postpartum depression in a memoir released three months earlier. Her death underscores the lethal risk of fentanyl-laced counterfeit prescriptions.