The cause of death for actor Hayden Panettiere (36), known for her roles in American series such as Heroes and Nashville, has been ruled an accidental death.

The U.S. daily The New York Times (NYT) reported on the 22nd (local time) that the Greenville County Coroner's Office in South Carolina determined the cause of Panettiere's death last month was the combined toxic effects of multiple drugs, including fentanyl, anti-anxiety medication, and muscle relaxants.

Autopsy results detected several drugs in addition to fentanyl, including alprazolam, methocarbamol, and quetiapine.

Alprazolam is the generic version of Xanax and is used as an anti-anxiety medication, while methocarbamol is the generic version of Robaxin, which has muscle-relaxant properties.

Quetiapine is used to treat bipolar disorder and depression.

It appears that taking these various drugs simultaneously led to cardiac arrest.

Because her boyfriend Brian Hickerson, who has a record of dating violence, was with her at the time of her death, various conspiracy theories were raised. However, there were no signs of trauma that contributed to her death, and no criminal charges have been filed.

During her lifetime, the deceased exposed Hickerson's abusive behavior through Good Morning America in 2020 and detailed the abuse she suffered by Hickerson in her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, published in May of this year.

Hickerson was indicted on seven charges, including assault against a girlfriend and witness tampering, pleaded guilty to two of them, and was sentenced to probation.

Additionally, various suspicions arose because her death came three months after she exposed drug addiction among child actors prevalent in Hollywood, as well as sexual harassment and sexual favors involving famous actors, in her memoir.

In response, Panettiere's representatives issued a statement saying, "People who were not close to the deceased are using her death for gossip and speculation without knowing the facts properly," and urged, "If anyone has credible information, please contact law enforcement rather than speculating on social media."

Panettiere gained immense popularity playing Claire Bennet, a cheerleader with regenerative abilities in the series Heroes—which tells the heroic tales of people with superpowers—and country music star Juliette Barnes in Nashville.

Heroes aired on South Korean terrestrial television in 2007, making Panettiere well-known in South Korea as well.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)