‘Lost her way’: Hayden Panettiere’s mother speaks about daughter’s death

The mother of actress Hayden Panettiere has spoken out about her daughter’s death. It was the first time she has spoken since Panettiere died on Aug. 16.

According to Variety, Leslie Vogel sat down with NBC News, telling the news outlet, “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. I think it becomes very difficult to be true to yourself, and I think Hayden sadly lost her way, and I wish it were different. I wish she had stayed true to herself because she had many incredible attributes.”

Vogel also spoke about her daughter’s on again/off again boyfriend.

“This person in her life that we have been trying to get rid of for quite some time was with her at her death,” she told NBC News.

Greenville Police Department records said Brian Hickerson, Panettiere’s boyfriend, and his brother Zach Hickerson were at the scene when Panettiere died. The actress’s boyfriend also gave a bag of medications to police that Panettiere had been taking, the “Today” show reported.

Panettiere and Vogel were estranged.

The actress wrote about their relationship in her memoir “This Is Me: A Reckoning,” Variety reported.

Vogel, a former actress herself, managed her daughter. Panettiere called her mother a “perfectionist” who allegedly superglued her tooth back in so the young actress would not lose a job.

When the book came out, Vogel said in an interview with Page Six that “the present drama is partially to sell books…As many parents of entertainment children [know], we are all too familiar with the painful observation of watching the self-destructive paths they sometimes choose. No parent hopes for this scenario; we want our children to be the best of themselves and live a peaceful, joyful life. Sadly, this is out of our control. You cannot save someone who does not want to be saved.”

Fox News said Vogel and Panettiere, 36, ended the business relationship when the “Heroes” actress was 19. They became estranged this year.

Panettiere told US Weekly that she and her mother did not have a relationship but “that doesn’t mean that I don’t leave the door open for the opportunity to present itself one day.”

No cause of death has been released for Panettiere. She was in cardiac arrest when first responders arrived, but resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful.

An autopsy found no signs of trauma. The Greenville County (South Carolina) Coroner’s Office and the Greenville City Police Department are conducting parallel investigations, Fox News reported.

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