Hayden Panettiere’s boyfriend Brian Hickerson’s past abuse case resurfaces after her death
As multiple past incidents and events are being uncovered involving Hayden Panettiere following her tragic death, her on-again, off-again boyfriend Brian Hickerson’s past of alleged violent behavior with her has also resurfaced, with the latest update that Brian’s request to reduce his past felony charges was denied just three days before the actress died.
Brian pleaded no contest in April 2021 to two felony counts of injuring a spouse or girlfriend. The charges came after a series of alleged domestic violence incidents involving Panettiere between May 2019 and January 2020.
At a hearing on August 13, prosecutors opposed Hickerson’s request to have the charges reduced to misdemeanors and dismissed. Judge Olivia Rosales denied his request, according to court documents obtained by Page Six.
Brian also made the same request in court back in 2025 to reduce his felony charges but it also got dismissed.
Back in 2021, Brian was sentenced to 45 days in county jail, four years of formal probation, 52 domestic violence classes and a five-year restraining order. He ended up serving 33 days in jail.
For those unversed, Hayden and Brian first began dating in 2018 but their relationship was filled with troubles with multiple alleged domestic violence incidents.
Hayden also penned about the abuse in her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, released months before her death.
Back in May, she spoke about an abusive person in an interview with US Weekly, “Getting an abusive person out of your life is like trying to rip a weed out that is so entangled into your life, and every time you pull it out another weed pops back up and you’re like, I thought I killed this.”
Brian acknowledged one of the incidents Hayden mentioned in her book, but noted he did not want it to be included in the memoir, but she included it anyway.
Hayden passed away tragically on Sunday, August 16, as her death was confirmed by her dad, Skip Panettiere.
“It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden,” he said in a statement.
The cause of her death has not yet been revealed, while the autopsy reported “no signs of trauma,” according to the Greenville County Coroner’s Office.
