September 14, 2026 • 13 mins
TMZ is citing multiple law enforcement sources with “direct knowledge” that Hayden Panettiere may have taken a blackmarket Oxycodone pill laced with fentanyl the morning of her death. Those same sources say police are looking into her long time drug dealer in Los Angeles and are trying to trace the pill back to him. Meantime, Panettiere’s on-again, off-again abusive boyfriend made headlines of his own over the weekend. Brian Hickerson and his brother Zach were reportedly highly intoxicated when Zach was ultimately arrested for disorderly conduct, as Brian shouted at police that they “leaked it when my girlfriend died.”
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hey there, folks. It is Monday, September 14th, and some
new reporting and new details about the death of Hayden Panettiere.
TMZ is telling us that authorities have a working theory
about how she died. And with that, welcome to this
episode of Amy and TJ. Robes, this reporting sounds like
(00:25):
the investigation is going a particular direction, and I guess
maybe this isn't a surprise given some of the details
we've heard already. That's right.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
TMZ is reporting, and they're citing from multiple law enforcement sources,
they believe that Hayden Panettiere might have died from a
fentanyl-laced pill. They believe that she had taken oxycodone and
that she had gotten it off the black market. This
wasn't a prescription pill or prescription pill bottle that she
would have gotten from a regular doctor. They believe this
(00:54):
might have been purchased on the black market.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
And again, did I mean, am I the only one?
I started seeing this whole Matthew Perry scenario. Exactly. Is
that what we're doing?
Speaker 2 (01:03):
That's exactly what it seems like. Although Matthew Perry had
doctors actually prescribing some of this, multiple doctors. This apparently,
according again to TMZ, police believe she had a longtime
drug dealer in Los Angeles, and they believe that this
drug dealer.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
Sold her some drugs.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Black market, off-the-market prescription drugs, and that she had taken
a couple on the plane or at least had some
on the plane and then took another one the morning
of her death. They believe that pill may have been
the one that was laced with fentanyl.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
So TMZ, again, they, I don't know how many years ago,
but they went beyond being a celebrity-chasing tabloid to a
news-breaking tabloid. online powerhouse to a great degree, and certainly
when it comes to entertainment news. I can't remember what
story it was, a major one that they had egg
(01:55):
on their face that they got wrong. I can't remember
which one it was, but what stood out is that
they immediately came back and said, we made a mistake. Yes.
I remember that part. But what I'm saying here is
not that you need us to, but we pay attention
to TMZ and the legitimacy of their reporting in ways
these days and a reputation that they've earned.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Yeah, we know Harvey Levin, and we've worked with him
plenty over the years. And so when they put something out,
we do feel fairly confident that they have not just
gotten ones for us, but they've vetted this through several sources.
I mean, think about the Savannah Guthrie, the Nancy Guthrie investigation.
They were breaking stories left and right and, in fact,
got some of those initial reports. would-be or alleged letters.
(02:36):
So yes, they are going with, they say they have
multiple sources here on this. And look, I even asked
you and I had to look it up because fentanyl,
we hear about fentanyl deaths all the time. But just
to remind folks who don't know, this is something that
is so powerful and so dangerous. And the reason why
it's in some of these pills, illegal drug makers are
(02:59):
using it to create fake pills that mimic real prescription painkillers.
And the reason why they use fentanyl is because it's
so powerful. It's like 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine.
And so a little bit goes a long way. The
problem is when they put too much in it, it
can very quickly and very easily become fatal.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
And obviously, we don't know what scientist is cooking this
up in his or her kitchen sink. I mean, we
just don't know. So Um, this is, and again, TMZ is,
I thought Robes interesting. They said multiple law enforcement sources,
but they then came back and said all connected to
the case and with direct knowledge. They seem to be
(03:42):
doubling down on what they feel is legitimate information coming
from people who are directly involved in this case. And Robes,
we found out, uh, it wasn't too long after her
death that the feds were involved. The DEA was getting
involved and we all, eyebrow kind of went up a
little bit, but as a reminder, this was on August 16th.
in South Carolina, where she was found unresponsive by her
(04:04):
boyfriend and his brother. They were the ones that called
it in. But Robes, as a part of that, said
they handed over a bag of pills. Exactly.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
And that stood out significantly when the initial reports, within
the first day following reports of her death, we were
told that her boyfriend handed over a big bag of
her prescription pills. And look, TMZ is saying that the
DEA now is trying to piece together which bottles came
(04:32):
from an actual doctor and which ones came from this
drug dealer, and they're trying to trace this one pill.
They believe it might just have been one pill back
to him right now, and that's where the investigation stands.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
How difficult is that? I mean, what's legit, what's not?
I guess people die of overdoses all the time from
prescription drugs. But robes... It is a more likely scenario.
Are we talking about one pill? We shall see, but
the toxicology report is still pending, and as we've seen
in the past, those things can sometimes take months. But Robes,
(05:09):
this is, I know people's thoughts went this direction because
she did. She was very open about a history she
had of drug abuse and drug addiction that could have
derailed her career, but she got through it, or said
she got through it and hoped she got through it,
but Well, Ro, this is a young lady who had
a very troubling and documented history of problems with drugs.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
And combine that with the physical pain even her own
mom talked about in the days that followed her death,
that her daughter was in constant physical pain. We even
saw photos of her a few months at the beginning
of this year where she was on crutches. She'd spoken
about suffering severe back pain from doing stunts when she
(05:54):
was young. in the movies and because of some of
those stunts she has lived with incredible debilitating sometimes where
she couldn't even walk kind of pain so when.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
You hear right it wasn't a particular like one accident
it was just over the years.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Yeah so we didn't hear about one particular stunt that
led to this but over the years yes she developed
chronic pain that became debilitating and so look if you
add that kind of pain with someone who has a
history of drug abuse it is a very Horrific combination.
And so if she was trying to get pain medication
and she wanted it the stronger, the better, this is
(06:29):
a very likely scenario. And I didn't realize this, but
the DEA says that two out of every fake pills
that you get on the black market that contain fentanyl
actually have a lethal effect.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
Wait, what's that? Say that stat again.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Of the fake pills that they find out, like the
black market drugs that they find out in the streets
that have fentanyl in it, two out of five have
a lethal.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
Dose of it.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
So oftentimes, first of all, these users don't know they're
taking fentanyl. They think they're taking oxycodone. And they obviously
have no idea that a pill would contain a lethal dose.
And so that is why you hear about all of
these accidental overdoses. These aren't people who are looking to die.
Many of them are looking to escape, and some of
them are mostly looking to escape pain. And we hear
(07:15):
about this, how dangerous buying any kind of fake prescription
drug on the black market is. And even someone like
Hayden Pianotere, who had, I'm sure, unlimited financial resources, was
that desperate. And that's just so, if this is what happened,
this is so tragic. She's trying to alleviate pain.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
And a reminder here, the authorities say, even though this is,
according to TMZ reporting, this is now the working theory
that authorities have. This is what the DA is working towards.
But right now, no toxicology report. We are waiting on that.
But also this made headlines will explain why Hayden Panettiere's boyfriend, yes,
(07:58):
her boyfriend, who has been under much scrutiny over the years,
headlines that said he had been arrested. Well, he did
get in some trouble with the police, and his brother
was the one actually arrested. We'll explain exactly what happened here.
(08:23):
We continue here on Amy and TJ on this Monday, Morning.
News coming to us from TMZ that the working theory
of authorities is that Hayden Panettiere might have taken an
oxycodone pill she got off the black market that possibly
was laced with fentanyl. Now, Robes, when we heard the
(08:43):
DEA was involved in this case and what they were
possibly looking into, I guess a lot of thoughts went
to the boyfriend because this is a guy she didn't
exactly have... A great history with.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
No, a massive history of domestic violence, arrest. He served
time in prison. And I mean, he is a convicted
felon over this domestic violence, which was serious and significant
and repeated. Apparently, if you read her memoir, she details
it specifically. And even just a few months before her death,
when she was on that book tour. she actually had
(09:18):
alerted her security at some of the bookstores that she
was holding events for to not let him into the event.
They were estranged. She even had a restraining order out
against him, but it appears they came back together at
some period of time before her death. And so, yes,
a lot of people were suspicious, a lot of people
pointing to Brian Hickerson. Even Hayden's own mother was suggesting
(09:39):
that he was responsible for her death.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
Oh, man, suggested is putting it lightly. I was surprised
how far she went in some of her language. seemingly
saying he contributed, not calling him a killer, but certainly
that he was contributing to her death.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
And so who knows? You know, we have seen, you
mentioned before the break, Matthew Perry, and we saw... several
arrests in his death resulting from the accidental overdose.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
At least five, and I think at least four during
jail time, if not all of them.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
So we know the police right now, according to TMZ,
are looking for this drug dealer, but we don't know
what role Brian may have played in securing any of this,
and he could possibly be implicated in this. alongside his brother,
who were both there, as you pointed out, at the
time of her death. But yes, they are making headlines.
Brian and his brother, Zach Hickerson, are making headlines over
(10:29):
an incident that happened at a Greenville, South Carolina, Wild
Wings restaurant. So yes, there was news about Brian Hickerson
and police and everybody got on board. But apparently, yes,
they were drinking and there was some sort of an assault,
according to Greenville Police Department, but it was mostly involving
brother Zach.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Yeah, they were just detained for a short time. But
Zach was the one who was actually charged, I think,
disorderly conduct or something like that. He was highly intoxicated.
But yeah, when you saw the first headline about the
brother or Brian Hickerson arrested, is this it? And then
you combine that with the headline about the investigation. It
Certainly will get your attention, so just wanted to clear
(11:11):
at least that up. And he's very aware, Robes, that
folks are looking at him. Absolutely. And have been from
the very beginning.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
Probably not a good idea to be out with his
brother at the Wild Wings getting wasted. And look, when
the police were there, people who were watching the whole event,
he apparently started shouting... GPD, Greenville police leaked it when
my girlfriend died. So he's actually even talking about Hayden
yelling as this, I guess, scene was created there in Greenville,
(11:40):
South Carolina. But yes, everyone who saw it said they
were highly intoxicated at the time.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
But rogues, like we've seen, there were doctors, there was
a drug dealer, there was an assistant, there were a
range of people. Matthew Perry's life who ended up pleading
guilty and going to jail. So Robes, the brother, Brian,
whoever the drug dealer is, Robes, these are the folks
(12:09):
who could be looking at being in trouble if this
investigation is going the direction they say it's going.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
And it's just, it's so sad to think You know,
fentanyl has been in the news for I don't know
how many years. We were even talking to a very
famous New Kids on the Block who told us, it
was a couple years ago, he had lost, am I correct,
12 friends?
Speaker 1 (12:32):
Yes, he did. We couldn't believe what he was saying.
Directly to fentanyl.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
I mean, this is something anyone who has either, who
has a friend who is a user, who is a
recovering user, they know this. This is a known fact
that when you buy drugs off the black market, you
are taking a risk because it's cheaper and They can
mass produce it. It's a synthetic. It looks like real oxycodone.
So if you're taking it, you think you're taking a
pain pill. You have no way of knowing that there's
(12:58):
fentanyl in it at all. And it doesn't take much.
It's like when we started looking into it, the smallest
amount of fentanyl can be lethal. And what an incredible
tragedy that this happened to this young woman. And look, police...
seem to be getting closer to getting some real answers
and perhaps getting some justice for Hayden Panettiere.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
All right, folks, just wanted to give you the update
here on this Monday morning. We'll be talking to you
plenty throughout the day. Of course, I'm TJ. That's Robes.
Talk soon.
Hey there, folks. It is Monday, September 14th, and some
new reporting and new details about the death of Hayden Panettiere.
TMZ is telling us that authorities have a working theory
about how she died. And with that, welcome to this
episode of Amy and TJ. Robes, this reporting sounds like
(00:25):
the investigation is going a particular direction, and I guess
maybe this isn't a surprise given some of the details
we've heard already. That's right.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
TMZ is reporting, and they're citing from multiple law enforcement sources,
they believe that Hayden Panettiere might have died from a
fentanyl-laced pill. They believe that she had taken oxycodone and
that she had gotten it off the black market. This
wasn't a prescription pill or prescription pill bottle that she
would have gotten from a regular doctor. They believe this
(00:54):
might have been purchased on the black market.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
And again, did I mean, am I the only one?
I started seeing this whole Matthew Perry scenario. Exactly. Is
that what we're doing?
Speaker 2 (01:03):
That's exactly what it seems like. Although Matthew Perry had
doctors actually prescribing some of this, multiple doctors. This apparently,
according again to TMZ, police believe she had a longtime
drug dealer in Los Angeles, and they believe that this
drug dealer.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
Sold her some drugs.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Black market, off-the-market prescription drugs, and that she had taken
a couple on the plane or at least had some
on the plane and then took another one the morning
of her death. They believe that pill may have been
the one that was laced with fentanyl.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
So TMZ, again, they, I don't know how many years ago,
but they went beyond being a celebrity-chasing tabloid to a
news-breaking tabloid. online powerhouse to a great degree, and certainly
when it comes to entertainment news. I can't remember what
story it was, a major one that they had egg
(01:55):
on their face that they got wrong. I can't remember
which one it was, but what stood out is that
they immediately came back and said, we made a mistake. Yes.
I remember that part. But what I'm saying here is
not that you need us to, but we pay attention
to TMZ and the legitimacy of their reporting in ways
these days and a reputation that they've earned.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Yeah, we know Harvey Levin, and we've worked with him
plenty over the years. And so when they put something out,
we do feel fairly confident that they have not just
gotten ones for us, but they've vetted this through several sources.
I mean, think about the Savannah Guthrie, the Nancy Guthrie investigation.
They were breaking stories left and right and, in fact,
got some of those initial reports. would-be or alleged letters.
(02:36):
So yes, they are going with, they say they have
multiple sources here on this. And look, I even asked
you and I had to look it up because fentanyl,
we hear about fentanyl deaths all the time. But just
to remind folks who don't know, this is something that
is so powerful and so dangerous. And the reason why
it's in some of these pills, illegal drug makers are
(02:59):
using it to create fake pills that mimic real prescription painkillers.
And the reason why they use fentanyl is because it's
so powerful. It's like 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine.
And so a little bit goes a long way. The
problem is when they put too much in it, it
can very quickly and very easily become fatal.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
And obviously, we don't know what scientist is cooking this
up in his or her kitchen sink. I mean, we
just don't know. So Um, this is, and again, TMZ is,
I thought Robes interesting. They said multiple law enforcement sources,
but they then came back and said all connected to
the case and with direct knowledge. They seem to be
(03:42):
doubling down on what they feel is legitimate information coming
from people who are directly involved in this case. And Robes,
we found out, uh, it wasn't too long after her
death that the feds were involved. The DEA was getting
involved and we all, eyebrow kind of went up a
little bit, but as a reminder, this was on August 16th.
in South Carolina, where she was found unresponsive by her
(04:04):
boyfriend and his brother. They were the ones that called
it in. But Robes, as a part of that, said
they handed over a bag of pills. Exactly.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
And that stood out significantly when the initial reports, within
the first day following reports of her death, we were
told that her boyfriend handed over a big bag of
her prescription pills. And look, TMZ is saying that the
DEA now is trying to piece together which bottles came
(04:32):
from an actual doctor and which ones came from this
drug dealer, and they're trying to trace this one pill.
They believe it might just have been one pill back
to him right now, and that's where the investigation stands.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
How difficult is that? I mean, what's legit, what's not?
I guess people die of overdoses all the time from
prescription drugs. But robes... It is a more likely scenario.
Are we talking about one pill? We shall see, but
the toxicology report is still pending, and as we've seen
in the past, those things can sometimes take months. But Robes,
(05:09):
this is, I know people's thoughts went this direction because
she did. She was very open about a history she
had of drug abuse and drug addiction that could have
derailed her career, but she got through it, or said
she got through it and hoped she got through it,
but Well, Ro, this is a young lady who had
a very troubling and documented history of problems with drugs.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
And combine that with the physical pain even her own
mom talked about in the days that followed her death,
that her daughter was in constant physical pain. We even
saw photos of her a few months at the beginning
of this year where she was on crutches. She'd spoken
about suffering severe back pain from doing stunts when she
(05:54):
was young. in the movies and because of some of
those stunts she has lived with incredible debilitating sometimes where
she couldn't even walk kind of pain so when.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
You hear right it wasn't a particular like one accident
it was just over the years.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Yeah so we didn't hear about one particular stunt that
led to this but over the years yes she developed
chronic pain that became debilitating and so look if you
add that kind of pain with someone who has a
history of drug abuse it is a very Horrific combination.
And so if she was trying to get pain medication
and she wanted it the stronger, the better, this is
(06:29):
a very likely scenario. And I didn't realize this, but
the DEA says that two out of every fake pills
that you get on the black market that contain fentanyl
actually have a lethal effect.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
Wait, what's that? Say that stat again.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Of the fake pills that they find out, like the
black market drugs that they find out in the streets
that have fentanyl in it, two out of five have
a lethal.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
Dose of it.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
So oftentimes, first of all, these users don't know they're
taking fentanyl. They think they're taking oxycodone. And they obviously
have no idea that a pill would contain a lethal dose.
And so that is why you hear about all of
these accidental overdoses. These aren't people who are looking to die.
Many of them are looking to escape, and some of
them are mostly looking to escape pain. And we hear
(07:15):
about this, how dangerous buying any kind of fake prescription
drug on the black market is. And even someone like
Hayden Pianotere, who had, I'm sure, unlimited financial resources, was
that desperate. And that's just so, if this is what happened,
this is so tragic. She's trying to alleviate pain.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
And a reminder here, the authorities say, even though this is,
according to TMZ reporting, this is now the working theory
that authorities have. This is what the DA is working towards.
But right now, no toxicology report. We are waiting on that.
But also this made headlines will explain why Hayden Panettiere's boyfriend, yes,
(07:58):
her boyfriend, who has been under much scrutiny over the years,
headlines that said he had been arrested. Well, he did
get in some trouble with the police, and his brother
was the one actually arrested. We'll explain exactly what happened here.
(08:23):
We continue here on Amy and TJ on this Monday, Morning.
News coming to us from TMZ that the working theory
of authorities is that Hayden Panettiere might have taken an
oxycodone pill she got off the black market that possibly
was laced with fentanyl. Now, Robes, when we heard the
(08:43):
DEA was involved in this case and what they were
possibly looking into, I guess a lot of thoughts went
to the boyfriend because this is a guy she didn't
exactly have... A great history with.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
No, a massive history of domestic violence, arrest. He served
time in prison. And I mean, he is a convicted
felon over this domestic violence, which was serious and significant
and repeated. Apparently, if you read her memoir, she details
it specifically. And even just a few months before her death,
when she was on that book tour. she actually had
(09:18):
alerted her security at some of the bookstores that she
was holding events for to not let him into the event.
They were estranged. She even had a restraining order out
against him, but it appears they came back together at
some period of time before her death. And so, yes,
a lot of people were suspicious, a lot of people
pointing to Brian Hickerson. Even Hayden's own mother was suggesting
(09:39):
that he was responsible for her death.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
Oh, man, suggested is putting it lightly. I was surprised
how far she went in some of her language. seemingly
saying he contributed, not calling him a killer, but certainly
that he was contributing to her death.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
And so who knows? You know, we have seen, you
mentioned before the break, Matthew Perry, and we saw... several
arrests in his death resulting from the accidental overdose.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
At least five, and I think at least four during
jail time, if not all of them.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
So we know the police right now, according to TMZ,
are looking for this drug dealer, but we don't know
what role Brian may have played in securing any of this,
and he could possibly be implicated in this. alongside his brother,
who were both there, as you pointed out, at the
time of her death. But yes, they are making headlines.
Brian and his brother, Zach Hickerson, are making headlines over
(10:29):
an incident that happened at a Greenville, South Carolina, Wild
Wings restaurant. So yes, there was news about Brian Hickerson
and police and everybody got on board. But apparently, yes,
they were drinking and there was some sort of an assault,
according to Greenville Police Department, but it was mostly involving
brother Zach.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Yeah, they were just detained for a short time. But
Zach was the one who was actually charged, I think,
disorderly conduct or something like that. He was highly intoxicated.
But yeah, when you saw the first headline about the
brother or Brian Hickerson arrested, is this it? And then
you combine that with the headline about the investigation. It
Certainly will get your attention, so just wanted to clear
(11:11):
at least that up. And he's very aware, Robes, that
folks are looking at him. Absolutely. And have been from
the very beginning.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
Probably not a good idea to be out with his
brother at the Wild Wings getting wasted. And look, when
the police were there, people who were watching the whole event,
he apparently started shouting... GPD, Greenville police leaked it when
my girlfriend died. So he's actually even talking about Hayden
yelling as this, I guess, scene was created there in Greenville,
(11:40):
South Carolina. But yes, everyone who saw it said they
were highly intoxicated at the time.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
But rogues, like we've seen, there were doctors, there was
a drug dealer, there was an assistant, there were a
range of people. Matthew Perry's life who ended up pleading
guilty and going to jail. So Robes, the brother, Brian,
whoever the drug dealer is, Robes, these are the folks
(12:09):
who could be looking at being in trouble if this
investigation is going the direction they say it's going.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
And it's just, it's so sad to think You know,
fentanyl has been in the news for I don't know
how many years. We were even talking to a very
famous New Kids on the Block who told us, it
was a couple years ago, he had lost, am I correct,
12 friends?
Speaker 1 (12:32):
Yes, he did. We couldn't believe what he was saying.
Directly to fentanyl.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
I mean, this is something anyone who has either, who
has a friend who is a user, who is a
recovering user, they know this. This is a known fact
that when you buy drugs off the black market, you
are taking a risk because it's cheaper and They can
mass produce it. It's a synthetic. It looks like real oxycodone.
So if you're taking it, you think you're taking a
pain pill. You have no way of knowing that there's
(12:58):
fentanyl in it at all. And it doesn't take much.
It's like when we started looking into it, the smallest
amount of fentanyl can be lethal. And what an incredible
tragedy that this happened to this young woman. And look, police...
seem to be getting closer to getting some real answers
and perhaps getting some justice for Hayden Panettiere.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
All right, folks, just wanted to give you the update
here on this Monday morning. We'll be talking to you
plenty throughout the day. Of course, I'm TJ. That's Robes.
Talk soon.
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