Hayden Panettiere’s parents both wanted the same pieces of jewelry removed from her body after her death, prompting South Carolina officials to hold onto the items rather than choose between them.
Several stud-style earrings were removed from Panettiere’s body and sealed inside a purple plastic bag, according to a Greenville County coroner’s report obtained by TMZ. A senior deputy coroner later contacted her father, Alan “Skip” Panettiere, and her mother, Lesley Vogel.
Both parents indicated that they wanted the earrings. Officials told the pair that Panettiere’s personal effects would remain with the coroner’s office until they reached an agreement.
Her relationship with Vogel had been strained during the final months of her life, while Skip attended the Malibu celebration of life held for his daughter in September and Vogel did not.
Who Will Inherit Hayden’s Estate
Separate questions about Panettiere’s estate surfaced soon after her death because she was unmarried and is survived by her 11-year-old daughter, Kaya, whom she shared with former fiancé Wladimir Klitschko.
Legal experts speaking to PEOPLE explained that if Panettiere was a California resident and died without a valid will or trust controlling her probate assets, her daughter would most likely inherit rather than her parents.
Life insurance, retirement accounts and other property with named beneficiaries can transfer separately, depending on how they were structured.
Panettiere’s assets could also include continuing entertainment income from a career that included Heroes, Nashville and the Scream franchise. Her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, was released May 19, less than three months before her death.
Hayden Had Spoken Openly About Her Strained Relationship With Her Mother
Panettiere had spent the months before her death speaking publicly about her complicated relationship with Vogel, who helped manage her acting career when she was young. During a May appearance on The View, Panettiere discussed their relationship while promoting her memoir. She explored it in greater detail during an On Purpose interview with Jay Shetty.
Panettiere said the line between mother and manager had become increasingly blurred as she grew older. She described feeling more like an employee, provider and emotional support system than simply Vogel’s daughter.
She recalled that at 19, while working on Heroes, she told Vogel that she wanted to end their professional relationship because she hoped they could instead have an ordinary mother-daughter relationship. “I don’t want us to work together anymore. I just want you to be my mom,” Panettiere recalled telling her.
Panettiere said Vogel responded, “You owe me.” She later said she understood that remark as referring to money and was hurt that ending their business relationship did not produce the personal relationship she had wanted.
In May, Vogel told Page Six that she had experienced “20 years of trauma” and said she had ultimately gone no-contact after seeking professional advice. Panettiere subsequently told Entertainment Tonight that her mother’s characterization was “so false” and said she had previously left open the possibility of reconciliation.
Her Father Attended the Memorial While Her Mother Was Absent
Skip and Vogel had also been separated for years. Their divorce was finalized in 2016 after a lengthy separation. The difference in their relationships with Panettiere was visible again at her September celebration of life in Malibu. Skip attended, while Vogel did not.
Initial TMZ reporting said Vogel had not been invited. A source close to Vogel later disputed that account and said she missed the service because of a family emergency.
PEOPLE reported that Connie Britton, Ruby Rose, Charles Esten, Paris Hilton and Evan Ross were among those who attended the memorial.
Esten, Panettiere’s longtime Nashville costar, performed during the service, and guests also participated in a dove release. Skip was photographed at the memorial wearing Hawaiian-style flowers around his neck.
Panettiere Had Spent Her Final Months Telling Her Story Herself
During a May CBS Mornings interview with Gayle King, Panettiere discussed why she had decided to write This Is Me: A Reckoning and revisit parts of her life that she had previously avoided discussing publicly.
The memoir covered her childhood acting career, addiction, postpartum depression, abusive relationships and the decision for Kaya to live primarily with Klitschko.
Panettiere died Aug. 16 while temporarily staying in Greenville, South Carolina. On Sept. 22, the Greenville County Coroner’s Office determined that her death resulted from the toxic effects of fentanyl, 4-ANPP, alprazolam, methocarbamol and quetiapine and ruled the manner of death an accident.
The coroner’s office said the autopsy found no trauma that contributed to her death. Its case has been administratively closed, while Greenville police said their investigation remains open.