Hayden Panettiere's Death Ruled Accidental as Greenville Police Close Investigation

Police in South Carolina have ruled the death of US actress Hayden Panettiere accidental, bringing an end to the local investigation into how she died.

The Greenville Police Department said it had "concluded its investigation" and pointed to the medical examiner's report, released last month, which found she died from a drug overdose. "Based on the Medical Examiner's determination and the findings of the investigation, Hayden Panettiere's death has been ruled accidental," police said in a statement.

The star of Heroes and Nashville died in August at the age of 36. The cause was the toxic effects of fentanyl, Xanax and several other drugs found in her system.

The US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) reportedly joined the local police inquiry. It is unclear whether that investigation has also finished, and the BBC has asked the DEA for comment. According to the BBC's US media partner CBS News, authorities including the DEA were looking into the circumstances surrounding her death. A spokesperson for the Greenville Police Department could not say what the DEA was examining when contacted by the BBC.

Panettiere was found unresponsive at a residence in South Carolina on 16 August. She had spoken openly in the past about her struggles with substance abuse.

Last month, the Greenville County Coroner's Office confirmed that the former child star died from an accidental overdose involving fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that has killed hundreds of thousands of Americans over the past five years alone. The coroner also found methocarbamol, a prescription muscle relaxant, and quetiapine, an anti-psychotic medication used to treat certain mental health conditions.

The coroner's office said emergency crews treated a woman in "cardiac arrest" and that her autopsy showed "no signs of trauma" that contributed to her death.

A police report from the day she died said her ex-boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, and his brother Zack were with her when emergency services arrived. Hickerson has admitted to abusing her.