Hickerson’s Motion Denied Before Panettiere’s Death | Durham News

Durham News Today | 2 Min News | The Daily News Now! · Aug 18, 2026 · 1m

Just days before Hayden Panettiere’s tragic death, her ex-boyfriend Brian Hickerson faced a major legal setback: his motion to downgrade two felony charges to misdemeanors was denied by a judge. The charges stemmed from alleged domestic violence incidents between 2019 and 2020, which he had pleaded no contest to in 2021. Panettiere, 36, died on August 16th after an overdose and cardiac arrest, with no signs of trauma found in the autopsy — though the official cause remains under investigation. The couple had recently traveled to South Carolina together, and Hickerson had previously been…