RESOLVING THE LEDGER
This is one outlet's own report from TMZ — the article as it was filed. Other outlets are covering the same event; open the full story to compare every source side by side.
See the full story · 14 sources
Hayden Panettiere\u2019s boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, allegedly sent her threatening text messages after his 2020 arrest for domestic battery ... years before she spoke out about forgiving him.
TMZ obtained court docs filed in Brian's 2020 criminal case, which show alleged threats he sent to Hayden after his arrest.
Brian was arrested on February 14, 2020, after he allegedly struck Hayden in the face with a closed fist at an Airbnb in Wyoming. Officers say they arrived to find Brian intoxicated and locked out of the home.
According to reports at the time, Hayden told the officers that Brian had roughed her up in the bedroom. The police report noted Hayden's face was red and swollen ... and she had a mark they believed may have been caused by Brian's watch.
Brian was arrested for domestic violence \u2026 months after he was arrested in California for allegedly assaulting Hayden. The California charges were dropped after Hayden refused to testify.
In a probable cause affidavit connected to the Wyoming arrest, cops say Hayden's lawyer called Wyoming authorities claiming Brian had contacted Hayden, despite a court order prohibiting him from doing so.
The lawyer turned over emails with screenshots of texts, missed phone calls and short video clips \u2026 which cops say show Brian using threatening language. One alleged text read, "Time to go to war I guess."
Another read, "After Wyoming and LA disappears so do the videos," and still another said, "Even if i sit in a jail cell for ten years. All of the stuff that is vaulted overseas with my people will come out the second I step foot into prison. And all that does is hurt your name while simultaneously clearing my name. And at that point who actually cares?"
Still other alleged texts read, "Say something Hayd, so I don't get defensive and start firing off emails to people to get ready" and "I thought his legal stuff would magically disappear\u2026 we gotta figure something out, buddy."
Cops believe the texts show evidence of Brian trying to intimidate Hayden to drop the case ... citing other texts that read "It is very simple, it is a very simple fix, between me and you, you gotta make one phone call" and "I don't want to go to court, for you. I will be f***ing fine in court, trust me, it's for you."
Brian was initially sentenced to spend about a year in jail over the incident, but the judge ended up suspending the sentence and ordering him to spend a year on probation.
At the time, Hayden spoke out against Brian and the abuse she said she endured.
In 2022, Hayden spoke about reconnecting with Brian but claimed they were just friends.
"None of it is OK, and I want to make sure that everybody knows that," Hayden said. "But I am open to people who are willing to get help and make amends. He's gone to treatment and done his time. And I'm trying to live in a place of forgiveness."
Fast forward to this week ... and Hayden went into cardiac arrest while Brian was asleep in the other room. She was later pronounced dead.
AIPROPX is an independent multi-source news index — we track, compare, and connect coverage from across the web into one place you won't find anywhere else.