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Hayden Panettiere's mother Lesley Vogel has broken her silence on her estranged daughter's shock death at 36.

Vogel blasted Panettiere's on-off boyfriend and convicted felon Brian Hickerson, who was revealed to have been with her when she died from a suspected overdose on Sunday.

Vogel told NBC News, 'This person in her life that we have been trying to get rid of for quite some time was with her at her death and that was Brian Hickerson.'

'I think Hayden was an amazingly talented person in so many departments and I think young people who grow up in the entertainment industry - it is a struggle and it’s a very challenging industry and it’s not unusual for them to sadly find the wrong path.'

Hickerson and his brother were inside her apartment when the actress suffered a suspected fatal heart attack on Sunday, police say.

Hickerson and his brother Zach witnessed her final moments in the Judson Mill Lofts apartment complex in Greenville, South Carolina, according to a newly released report from the Greenville Police Department.

An officer at the scene said Zach was 'very emotional' as he saw paramedics perform CPR, but added Hickerson did not show any emotion until his 36-year-old partner was declared dead.

Hayden Panettiere's mother Lesley Vogel has broken her silence on her estranged daughter's shock death at 36

Vogel blasted Panettiere's on-off boyfriend and convicted felon Brian Hickerson, who was revealed to have been with her when she died from a suspected overdose on Sunday; The two seen in 2018

Brian Hickerson allegedly then showed police a 'bag of medication' that Panettiere had been taking at the time of her death, kept inside the apartment complex where she was temporarily staying.

The heavily redacted police report said officers arrived at 1.50pm, and officers found multiple EMS and firemen performing CPR for 'an extended amount of time' on the actress, 'who did not seem to have any obvious physical reasons to be unresponsive.'

The Greenville County Coroner’s Office has said Panettiere's cause of death remains under investigation, however audio of the 911 call from her apartment showed a dispatcher described it as a 'cardiac arrest.'

A dispatcher could be heard in the audio saying that Panettiere had suffered a suspected overdose, and sources told TMZ that Narcan - a nasal medication used to treat an opioid overdose - was also found on a mattress at the property.

Panettiere first began dating Hickerson in 2018, however their on-off relationship became tumultuous as he was arrested several times on domestic violence charges.

Panettiere had spoken of her troubled childhood in the spotlight in recent months, and revealed intimate details of her relationship with Hickerson in her memoir published three months before her death.

She was mother to an 11-year-old daughter with her ex-partner Wladimir Klitschko, a former boxer turned Ukrainian government official who has full custody of the youngster.

In her memoir, titled 'This Is Me: A Reckoning', Panettiere alleged that Hickerson once beat her so severely that she had to remain in her house for weeks to keep her injuries from the public.

The Heroes star's on-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson was in the apartment where she died alongside his brother Zach (seen together)

She said she tried to keep the alleged abuse from the police because she feared the public would find out, and described her relationship as a 'very dark and complicated time in my life.'

In one incident, Hickerson was arrested in May 2019, and court records show he was charged with injuring a spouse or girlfriend. He pleaded no contest to the allegations in April 2021, and he was sentenced to 45 days in county jail and four years' probation.

Just three days before Panettiere's death, Hickerson had a request to reduce his past felony charges denied by a judge.

Panettiere's relationship with Hickerson appeared to end in 2020, and in July of that year she filed for a restraining order against him. The outcome of her request is not stated on court records.

The Greenville Police Department said in a statement that 'the preliminary investigation has not indicated any signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances', and an autopsy found 'no signs of trauma were discovered that would have contributed to the death.'

Panettiere died in the Judson Mill Lofts apartment complex in Greenville, South Carolina (pictured) where she was temporarily staying

Hayden Panettiere died aged 36 on Sunday after suffering a suspected cardiac arrest in a South Carolina apartment complex

Panettiere had an 11-year-old daughter called Kaya following a life-threatening birth, but later gave full custody to her former fiancé, Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko

The star and her on-off real estate agent boyfriend were said to have flown from Los Angeles to South Carolina, where he is from, one day before she died.

Panettiere had an 11-year-old daughter called Kaya following a life-threatening birth, but later gave full custody to her former fiancé, Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko.

The star began acting as a child, appearing in soap operas, then gained wider recognition for her role in the 2000 sports drama Remember the Titans with Denzel Washington, and as the voice of Dot in Pixar's 1998 film A Bug's Life.

Panettiere later found fame playing cheerleader Claire Bennet in the superhero drama Heroes before starring as country singer Juliette Barnes for six seasons on Nashville.

She earned two Golden Globe nominations for best supporting actress on the show, while her singing produced 11 entries on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs charts.

Panettiere's film credits include 2006's Bring It On: All or Nothing, the comedy-drama film Raising Helen, and appearances in Scream 4 and Scream VI as Kirby Reed.