The brother of Hayden Panettiere’s former boyfriend Brian Hickerson has spoken out after being arrested for disorderly conduct following a disturbance at a restaurant in Greenville, South Carolina.
Zach Hickerson said tensions had risen because of “misconceptions” and rumours surrounding the actress’s death, after an eyewitness alleged that the brothers had been heckled by other diners.
“This is the problem with y’all putting stuff on the Internet: People fill in their own holes and then they want to attack people for no reason,” Zach said after being released from custody.
He added: “It’s just super-frustrating all that we’ve been through and all the rumors that get started and then people believe them, and then they attack as a result of the rumors.”
Zach said the situation was “what pi**es me off” and suggested he would “eventually” address what he believes to be false claims connected to the case.
Greenville restaurant disturbance
The brothers had been drinking at the Wild Wing Cafe when a confrontation developed with a group of diners. An eyewitness said about five middle-aged people had been sitting at a nearby table, with women from the group repeatedly approaching the Hickersons.
The account said the dispute intensified after Zach confronted one of the men. The situation appeared to become physical as the two moved towards the bar, with other people becoming involved and a table being knocked over.
Glasses were reportedly thrown to the floor, while Brian was seen picking up a bar stool and flinging it backwards. Video showed him being carried out of the restaurant by a man wearing a red baseball cap as a bartender shouted: “Let him go!”
Police placed Brian, 37, in handcuffs, although he was not arrested and was later released. Zach was arrested after reportedly becoming heavily intoxicated and shouting profanities, and was booked on a disorderly conduct allegation.
While sitting handcuffed on the kerb, Brian was reportedly heard accusing police of leaking information about Panettiere’s death. “GPD leaked it when my girlfriend died,” he shouted, according to an account of the incident.
Investigation into Hayden Panettiere’s death
Brian and Zach were both present at the Greenville condominium where Panettiere was pronounced dead, aged 36, on August 16. In an incident report, Zach told police that Brian had been sleeping in a separate room when he arrived and found the actress unresponsive in a chair.
He said Brian administered Narcan, a medication used to reverse opioid overdoses, and that they performed CPR while speaking to emergency dispatchers.
Brian has since met with the Drug Enforcement Administration as part of an investigation into Panettiere’s suspected overdose death. Local and federal investigators are reportedly seeking to identify a suspected dealer, while the actress’s toxicology results and official cause of death have not been released.
Panettiere and Brian Hickerson had an on-off relationship which began in 2018. He was arrested and charged several times in connection with domestic abuse allegations involving the actress, and in 2021 pleaded no contest to two felony counts of injuring a spouse or girlfriend.
Zach previously said there were “a lot of assumptions, speculations and accusations currently swirling”, adding: “The truth will come out as the authorities complete and release additional details from the investigation.”
He described Panettiere as “one of the most precious individuals on this earth” and said her friends and family should be allowed to mourn without “additional noise, chaos, and misinformation”.
