Brian Hickerson's attorney breaks silence over Hayden Panettiere's death

Brian Hickerson's attorney hopes the investigation into Hayden Panettiere's death can "proceed" without interruptions.

The actress died, aged 36, at an apartment in Greenville, South Carolina, on August 16, and Sloan Ellis, the attorney of her on/off boyfriend, has now broken his silence on Panettiere's passing.

In a statement given to TMZ, Ellis said: "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. Out of respect for Hayden’s loved ones and the ongoing investigation, there will be no further comment at this time."

Panettiere was found unresponsive, and she was pronounced dead at the scene after resuscitation efforts failed.

No official cause of death has yet been released, but dispatch audio that has been released showed discussions of "overdose" and "cardiac arrest".

An insider has claimed that the Nashville star reconnected with Hickerson around two weeks before she died, and they had spent a week together in Los Angeles before heading out east.

A source told Page Six: “He was supposed to leave, but somehow, they ended up on a flight to South Carolina, where he is from."

Despite this, the insider stressed that “things did not appear to be romantic” between the pair.

They added: “Brian would always find a way to work his way back into Hayden’s life as ‘a friend.’ “

Panettiere's close friends were said to have been "always concerned" about her relationship with Brian, who they saw as "bad news" and "a real jerk".

But one pal claimed Panettiere - who had an 11-year-old daughter called Kaya with former partner Wladimir Klitschko - had kept their reconnection a secret from her friends.

Another source said: “If Brian was back in her life then it was something she was hiding because she wasn’t speaking about it with many of her friends."