Hayden Panettiere‘s estranged mother is speaking out about how the late actress allegedly treated the physical and emotional pain she was in prior to her shocking death.
“She was in pain,” Lesley Vogel told The New York Times in an article published on Sunday, August 23, recalling time she says she spent with Panettiere in Los Angeles one year ago. “She was afraid. She couldn’t physically function properly.”
Vogel claimed she took Panettiere to various doctors and tried massage and acupuncture treatments in an effort to treat the “pins in needles” feeling she had in her lower extremities, which made it difficult to work. The cause of Panettiere’s symptoms was unclear. The actress, however, wondered if it was connected to injuries she faced on various film sets as a child.
Fitness expert Marnie Alton began working with Panettiere in 2024 and told the outlet that the actress was working hard, both physically and mentally.
“She was a badass,” Alton told the outlet. “She was really smart. She kept fighting for her body because she felt like, ‘If I can get my strength back, I can get myself back.’”
News broke earlier this month that Panettiere died at age 36 in South Carolina. She is survived by Vogel, dad Skip Panettiere and her 11-year-old daughter, Kaya, whom she welcomed with ex-fiancé Wladimir Klitschko.
While Hayden’s cause of death has not been confirmed, an autopsy has shown “no signs of trauma” that contributed to her passing. A local police report claimed that Hayden’s on-again, off-again ex Brian Hickerson and his brother, Zach, were present at the scene where she died.
“Hayden’s death remains under investigation and it is important to allow that investigation to proceed,” Hickerson’s attorney Sloan Ellis told Us in a statement on Thursday, August 20. “As has been publicly reported, police confirmed there were no signs of foul play. Out of respect for Hayden’s loved ones and the ongoing investigation, there will be no further comment at this time.”
One day later, Hickerson claimed to TMZ that he and his brother tried to save Hayden’s life.
“When we went in and tried to wake Hayden up for lunch, we realized she was unconscious,” he alleged on Friday, August 21. “I immediately called 911, and Brian gave her Narcan. We then jointly performed CPR while 911 was on speaker until Fire and EMS arrived. At that point, we watched as they tried every measure possible to save her life.”
Vogel, however, refuted the claims and told the Daily Mail on Saturday that she believes Brian is “culpable” for her daughter’s death.
Vogel further shed light on her daughter’s dynamic with Hickerson in The New York Times interview on Sunday, alleging that he had once pawned “some of” Hayden’s belongings, including a vintage guitar, prior to her death. Vogel also claimed that Hayden was “shocked” to find her possessions in Hickerson’s storage unit.
A second person, who spoke to The New York Times anonymously, confirmed that Hickerson had sold a handful of Hayden’s belongings. Us previously reached out to Hickerson for comment regarding claims he pawned her property.
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