Panettiere Overdose Ruled Accidental; Police Investigation Ongoing

Police say the investigation into Hayden Panettiere’s death remains open, even though the coroner ruled her Aug. 16 death accidental. The coroner attributed it to the combined toxic effects of fentanyl and four other substances; toxicology also detected naloxone and cotinine. A separate report said Panettiere had spent two or three weeks in a Malibu rehabilitation facility shortly before her death. Addiction experts caution that opioid overdose risk can rise after abstinence because tolerance declines, and that combining opioids with sedating drugs such as benzodiazepines can increase danger. They stress that the circumstances and sources of the drugs are not known, while noting that medications including methadone, buprenorphine and naltrexone are established treatments for opioid use disorder.