Lesley Vogel Blames Brian Hickerson for 36-Year-Old Hayden Panettiere's Estrangement and Death Fallout
Updated
Updated · The Cut · Aug 24
Lesley Vogel Blames Brian Hickerson for 36-Year-Old Hayden Panettiere's Estrangement and Death Fallout
3 articles · Updated · The Cut · Aug 24
Summary
Good Morning America aired Lesley Vogel’s first extended interview since Hayden Panettiere was found dead of an apparent overdose on Aug. 16 in Greenville, South Carolina, at age 36.
Vogel defended her public grieving against backlash over earlier remarks that her daughter had “lost her way,” saying critics had no right to dictate how she mourns the loss of a second child.
Brian Hickerson became the focus of Vogel’s account: she said he drove the yearlong estrangement, called him “toxic,” and said Panettiere had wanted him out of her life before returning to him.
An ABC-obtained police report said Hickerson and his brother Zach were the last two people to see Panettiere alive; the family is delaying a celebration of life until the death investigation is complete.
The interview also reopened a longer family rift, after Panettiere had said in recent interviews and her May memoir that she and Vogel had no current relationship but left open a future reconciliation.
What do the conflicting accounts, Narcan at the scene, and a pending toxicology report really reveal about Hayden Panettiere’s final hours?
Why is Hayden Panettiere’s mother challenging Brian Hickerson’s timeline, and what evidence could confirm what happened inside the Greenville apartment?