Police rule Hayden Panettiere's August death accidental, closing Greenville investigation

Police in Greenville, South Carolina, said Wednesday that the death of actress Hayden Panettiere has been ruled accidental, closing the department's investigation. The Greenville Police Department said its conclusion rested on the medical examiner's determination and its own findings. Panettiere, 36, known for Nashville and Heroes, was found unresponsive on Aug. 16 at an apartment at the Judson Mill Lofts on Easley Bridge Road and was pronounced dead at 2:32 p.m. The Greenville County Coroner's Office found she died of an accidental overdose of fentanyl, 4-ANPP, Alprazolam, methocarbamol and Quetiapine. Her on-and-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother Zach were at the residence, a 911 call was placed, and Hickerson gave medics a bag of medications she was believed to have taken. The Drug Enforcement Administration reportedly joined the inquiry, and it is unclear whether its probe has ended.

The Daily Caller, on the right, runs the fullest account: it says police found no foul play, names the Hickerson brothers, gives the time of death and the medications bag, and mentions her memoir alleging abuse in that relationship, citing local stations KGET and WYFF. Fox News is shorter, built around a Jonathan Hunt segment on The Story and the police statement, and leaves out the people present and the drug list. The left-leaning items provided, from CBS News and NPR, are about a different story: Trump's second South Carolina visit in eight days, with the Senate race tightening six days before the midterms. They do not mention Panettiere. The BBC stands apart by stressing that the DEA's status is unclear and that it has asked the agency for comment, and by linking to pieces on child stars and addiction.