Federal narcotics agents and local law enforcement officers have turned their attention to a suspected Los Angeles drug supplier following the sudden death of actress Hayden Panettiere.
According to US media reports, police and federal investigators working on the case believe the Nashville actress may have died after taking a counterfeit oxycodone pill containing a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl.
Sources familiar with the investigation told TMZ that Panettiere regularly bought illegal prescription pills from a long-term dealer based in Southern California. Shortly before flying from Los Angeles to South Carolina, she allegedly purchased several black-market pills from the supplier.
Investigators believe she took one of the pills the following morning while staying at a condominium in South Carolina with her partner, Brian Hickerson.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), working with local police departments in California and South Carolina, is attempting to trace the source and movement of the drugs.
Federal agents are reportedly reviewing phone records, location data and text messages between Panettiere and the suspected supplier as they build a potential criminal distribution case.
Emergency responders were called to the South Carolina property after Panettiere was found unresponsive on August 16. Hickerson attempted to revive her using Narcan, an emergency medication used to reverse opioid overdoses, before paramedics arrived, but efforts to save her were unsuccessful.
When officers arrived at the scene, Hickerson handed over a bag containing various prescription medications as part of the police investigation.
The investigation remains active, with authorities awaiting final toxicology results from the medical examiner to officially establish the cause of death.
Meanwhile, federal and state law enforcement agencies are continuing efforts to identify and locate the person who allegedly supplied the pills.
The case bears similarities to previous federal investigations in which drug dealers were prosecuted over counterfeit pills supplied to public figures, including rapper Mac Miller.
Miller, 26, died at his Los Angeles home on September 7, 2018, after accidentally ingesting a combination of fentanyl, cocaine and alcohol.
Medical examiners determined that his death was an accidental overdose. Investigators later established that counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl had been supplied to him.
Federal authorities subsequently arrested three men linked to the drug supply chain. Cameron James Pettit was accused of selling the counterfeit pills directly to Miller, while Ryan Michael Reavis was accused of delivering the drugs. Stephen Andrew Walter was identified as a supplier.
Reavis was sentenced to 11 years in prison, while Walter received a 17-year sentence. Pettit was also prosecuted in connection with Miller’s death.
