Hayden Panettiere died after taking just one pill that is believed to have been oxycodone laced with fentanyl, it was reported Monday as cops are said to be “zeroing in” on her alleged dealer.
The actress appears to have met with her “long-term drug dealer” in Los Angeles before flying to South Carolina, where she died of a suspected overdose on Aug. 16, just before her 37th birthday, multiple law enforcement sources connected to the case told TMZ.
The mom appears to have taken one pill the day she died, but it was fatal because it was laced with fentanyl, the sources said of the opioid 50 times stronger than heroin.
Panettiere died from a suspected overdose but the authorities have not released her exact cause of death. They warned toxicology results could take up to 12 weeks.
The development comes amid reports that the authorities were “zeroing in on a potential drug dealer” in the case.
Drug Enforcement Administration officials in Los Angeles and South Carolina are investigating, according to TMZ.
Panettiere’s abusive on-off ex, Brian Hickerson — who was with her on the flight and the South Carolina apartment where she died — has already met with DEA officials, according to reports.
It’s not known what Hickerson revealed to law enforcement officials but he previously told police Panettiere had a “bag of medication” with her.
The drugs Panettiere was reportedly taking were redacted in the Greenville City Police, although there were nine different types.
Panettiere, who was best known for her roles in “Heroes” and “Nashville,” had been open about her battles with addiction in her memoir, “This is Me: A Reckoning,” which was published just three months before her death.
She spoke candidly about her battles with alcohol, opioid addiction, and postpartum depression.
Panettiere revealed she was just 15 when someone on her team offered her what she described as “happy pills” before going onto the red carpet.
“They were to make me peppy during interviews,” she told People magazine in 2022.
“I had no idea that this was not an appropriate thing, or what door that would open for me when it came to my addiction.”
Her addiction battle spiralled after appearing on Heroes as a 16-year-old actress.
“But things kept getting out of control [off set],” she admitted.
“And as I got older, the drugs and alcohol became something I almost couldn’t live without.”
Panettiere turned to booze as she battled postpartum depression after giving birth to her daughter, Kaya, in 2014. She shared her daughter with the former heavyweight boxer, Wladimir Klitschko.
The actress developed jaundice – a condition in which the skin and whites of the eyes turn yellow due to poor liver function.
“Doctors told me my liver was going to give out,” she said.
“A doctor told me that if I didn’t stop drinking, I’d be dead within five years,” she revealed in her book
