Hayden Panettiere's mother says Brian Hickerson pawned items late actress owned before her tragic death

Hayden Panettiere's mother Lesley Vogel told The New York Times Sunday that the late star's on-again, off-again boyfriend Brian Hickerson had pawned items that belonged to the Heroes actress prior to her passing.

Vogel, who made a series of allegations about Hickerson in an earlier interview with The Daily Mail following Panettiere's death last week at 36, told the newspaper she had been 'alarmed' to hear details about the pawned items. 

Vogel told The New York Times that 'a vintage guitar' was among the items Panettiere owned that Hickerson sold.

Panettiere had been described as 'shocked' after she learned that multiple things she owned had been kept in a storage unit Hickerson had, Vogel told the newspaper. 

A separate unnamed source confirmed to the paper that multiple items Panettiere had owned had been pawned by Hickerson, who had previously filed for bankruptcy in 2022.

The New York Times report did not indicate whether or not Panettiere had consented to the sale of her belongings. 

The Daily Mail has reached out to Vogel and attorneys for Hickerson for further comment on the story.

Hickerson's involvement in Panettiere's 'life and finances' were a catalyst for an estrangement Vogel had with her daughter over the last year of her life, Vogel told The New York Times.

Elsewhere in the article, Vogel said that Panettiere 'couldn't physically function properly' amid ongoing ailments, leading her to take her for medical tests, acupuncture and massage to attempt to remedy the situation.

'She was in pain ... She was afraid,' she said.

Fitness trainer Marnie Alton, who had worked with the actress two years ago, described Panettiere to the newspaper as 'really smart' and driven to reclaim her physical health.

'She kept fighting for her body because she felt like, "If I can get my strength back, I can get myself back,"' Alton told the newspaper.

She added that Hickerson had been present at times to record and take pictures of Panettiere in their sessions as she tried to reclaim her health.

Hickerson and Panettiere, who had been linked since 2018, had a stormy history in which he had been convicted of domestic abuse in connection with their relationship. 

Hickerson in April of 2021 entered pleas of no contest to a pair of felony counts of domestic abuse in an agreement after he was initially charged with eight counts of domestic violence - including assault with a deadly weapon, battery and corporal injury - in Los Angeles in July of 2020.

He received a 45-day jail sentence and probation for four years from the court, which ordered him to complete classes on domestic violence following the pleas of no contest.

The other charges were subsequently dropped following the pleas, and Panettiere had been issued a protective order spanning five years, which had expired earlier this year.

Panettiere had been declared deceased August 16 at a residence in Greenville, South Carolina in what officials said was suspected as a drug 'overdose.'

Her passing was announced Sunday by her father Skip Panettiere, who said in a statement: 'It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden.

'She was an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her - and to the millions who watched her onscreen. We ask for privacy as our family takes time to process this unimaginable loss.'

Authorities in Greenville, South Carolina, subsequently said that officials responded to an apartment in the area after receiving a report of an 'unresponsive female' via a possible 'drug overdose,' subsequently determined to be Panettiere.

Officials, who attempted lifesaving measures prior to declaring the actress deceased, said that no signs of trauma or foul play were evident in their probe into Panettiere's death, which remains ongoing.

On Thursday, Hickerson's lawyer Sloan Ellis said in a statement obtained by The Daily Mail, 'Hayden’s death remains under investigation and it is important to allow that investigation to proceed.

'As has been publicly reported, police confirmed there were no signs of foul play,' Ellis said. 'Out of respect for Hayden’s loved ones and the ongoing investigation, there will be no further comment at this time.'