Newly released details about Hayden Panettiere’s death are offering a much clearer picture of what investigators encountered inside the South Carolina apartment where the 36-year-old actress was found unresponsive on August 16.

According to a detailed investigative report from the Greenville County Medical Examiner, blue pressed pills that later tested positive for fentanyl were discovered on a table near Panettiere. Investigators also found a straw and white powder stored inside a sunglasses case in her suitcase.

The findings add disturbing new context to the actress’s final hours after officials determined that she died from the toxic effects of several substances, including fentanyl.

The report also reconstructs the morning of her death, describing the last known time she was seen responsive, the moment she was discovered on a sofa bed and the unsuccessful efforts to revive her.

Hayden Was Seen Getting Ready That Morning

Panettiere was staying at an Airbnb in Greenville, South Carolina, with her on-again, off-again boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother, Zach Hickerson.

A senior deputy coroner who responded after Panettiere’s death interviewed the two brothers as part of the investigation.

According to the report, one of them said he saw Panettiere applying makeup at approximately 10:30 a.m. on August 16.

At that point, nothing described in the report suggested an immediate emergency.

The brother then returned to bed.

Later, he was awakened by someone knocking at the door. What happened after that transformed an otherwise ordinary morning into a frantic attempt to save Panettiere’s life.

The brothers found her face down in a seated position on a sofa bed, with her legs crossed.

They tried to wake her but received no response.

According to the investigative account, Panettiere’s skin had become a deep purple color by the time she was discovered.

Two Doses of Narcan Were Administered

The emergency response began immediately.

Brian Hickerson administered Narcan, a medication commonly used during suspected opioid overdoses, according to the report.

Two doses were given.

He then called 911.

Despite those efforts, Panettiere could not be revived.

The actress’s death was later attributed to the combined toxic effects of fentanyl, alprazolam, a muscle relaxant and medication used in the treatment of serious mental health conditions.

Her death was ruled accidental.

The more detailed investigative report now provides additional physical evidence that was not initially made public, particularly the objects discovered close to where she had been staying.

Among them were the blue pressed pills that tested positive for fentanyl.

Investigators also documented a straw on a table.

Inside Panettiere’s suitcase, they found a sunglasses case containing white powder.

Those discoveries became part of the larger effort to reconstruct what Panettiere may have consumed before her death.

One Brother Said She Could Hide Drug Use

The interviews conducted after Panettiere died also revealed uncertainty among those who had been with her.

One of the brothers told the deputy coroner that he did not know whether Panettiere had used illicit drugs during the previous two days.

The reason he gave was particularly striking.

According to the report, he said she had become very skilled at hiding that behavior.

That statement offers a painful glimpse into the private struggles surrounding Panettiere during the period leading up to her death.

The investigative report further states that she had been in rehabilitation only weeks earlier.

Taken together, those details portray someone who had recently sought treatment but whose final days may still have involved substances powerful enough to prove fatal.

Her Father Said She Had Plans Beyond Greenville

Perhaps one of the most emotional details in the investigative record came from Panettiere’s father, Skip.

When interviewed, he told the investigator that his daughter had plans for the immediate future.

Panettiere was expected to celebrate her 37th birthday in Greenville on August 21 — just five days after she died.

After that, she intended to travel to Ukraine to visit her daughter.

Those plans give the timeline an especially poignant contrast.

On the morning of August 16, Panettiere had been seen applying makeup.

She was only days away from another birthday.

And according to her father, she was preparing for an international trip that would reunite her with her child.

Hours later, she was dead.

Toxicology Findings Explained the Medical Cause

The initial announcement of Panettiere’s cause of death established that several substances were present in her system.

Among them was fentanyl, along with alprazolam, an anti-anxiety medication.

The toxicology findings also included a muscle relaxer and another medication commonly used in the treatment of major depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

The newly detailed scene investigation adds another layer by showing what authorities physically recovered near Panettiere and among her belongings.

Most notably, the pressed pills tested positive for fentanyl.

That finding is significant because it directly connects the drug identified in Panettiere’s system with physical evidence collected from the place where she was staying.

Federal Agents Are Also Investigating

The investigation has extended beyond local authorities.

Drug Enforcement Administration agents have been examining the circumstances surrounding Panettiere’s death, including the possible source of the drugs involved.

According to information cited in connection with the investigation, agents have focused attention on a longtime Los Angeles drug dealer believed to have supplied Panettiere with black-market substances.

Investigators suspect that drugs obtained through that source may have been contaminated with fentanyl and could have played a role in her death.

That federal inquiry has become one of the most important unresolved aspects of the case.

While the medical examiner has already determined how Panettiere died medically, authorities are still examining where the substances came from and how they reached her.

A Final Morning Reconstructed Piece by Piece

The new investigative report creates a more detailed timeline than was available immediately after Panettiere’s death.

At approximately 10:30 a.m., she was reportedly seen applying makeup.

Later that morning, the people staying with her returned to find her unresponsive on the sofa bed.

Her appearance indicated that she was already in severe medical distress.

Two doses of Narcan were administered.

Emergency services were called.

Investigators subsequently recovered pressed pills containing fentanyl, a straw and white powder.

By then, the plans Panettiere had reportedly made for the days ahead — a birthday celebration and a trip to see her daughter — would never happen.

New Evidence Deepens the Tragedy

The latest disclosures do not change the official finding that Hayden Panettiere’s death was accidental, but they provide a far more intimate and unsettling account of the environment surrounding her final hours.

The physical evidence found at the Airbnb, the toxicology results and the statements from those who were present now form a more complete picture of the investigation.

They also highlight the painful contrast between the future Panettiere apparently expected and the reality of what happened on August 16.

She had recently been through rehabilitation.

She had plans to celebrate turning 37.

Her father believed she was preparing to travel overseas to visit her daughter.

Instead, investigators would soon be documenting pills, powder and a straw while trying to understand how a morning that began with Panettiere getting ready had ended with an unsuccessful attempt to save her life.

The medical cause of her death is now known.

What remains under scrutiny is how the fentanyl-linked substances reached her — and whether the continuing federal investigation will provide further answers about the chain of events that led to Hayden Panettiere’s final day.