A stunning new development in the death of actress Hayden Panettiere is raising questions about whether a single pill may have been enough to end her life.

Investigators reportedly suspect the 36-year-old “Heroes” and “Nashville” star took what she believed was oxycodone — but that the pill may have been contaminated with the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl.

Now authorities are reportedly focusing attention on the person suspected of supplying Panettiere with drugs before her death.

Multiple law enforcement sources told TMZ that Panettiere apparently met with her alleged longtime drug dealer in Los Angeles before traveling to South Carolina.

Just days later, she was dead.

Panettiere died Aug. 16 at a temporary residence in Greenville, South Carolina, only five days before what would have been her 37th birthday.

First responders discovered the actress unresponsive and in cardiac arrest. Efforts to revive her were unsuccessful.

Investigators reportedly believe Panettiere took a single pill on the morning she died. Sources suspect that pill was oxycodone contaminated with fentanyl, an extraordinarily potent synthetic opioid.

But one crucial question remains unanswered.

Panettiere’s official cause and manner of death have not yet been determined. Authorities are awaiting toxicology results, and an autopsy reportedly found no signs of trauma that contributed to her death.

The investigation has now expanded beyond the circumstances inside the South Carolina residence.

According to TMZ, authorities were “zeroing in on a potential drug dealer,” while Drug Enforcement Administration officials in both Los Angeles and South Carolina have reportedly become involved.

Panettiere’s on-again, off-again boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, was also staying at the South Carolina residence and had traveled there with her from Los Angeles.

Hickerson has reportedly met with DEA officials, but he has not been accused or charged in connection with Panettiere’s death.

Exactly what he told investigators remains unclear.

According to a police report, Hickerson previously showed authorities a “bag of medication” that Panettiere had with her.

The names of the medications were redacted from the report, although the document appeared to identify nine separate drugs.

The circumstances surrounding Panettiere’s death are especially heartbreaking in light of her years of remarkably candid disclosures about addiction.

The former child star had publicly discussed her struggles with drugs and alcohol, including in her memoir, “This Is Me: A Reckoning,” released just three months before her death.

Panettiere previously said she was only 15 years old when someone on her team began giving her what she described as “happy pills” ahead of red-carpet appearances.

“They were to make me peppy during interviews,” she told People magazine in 2022.

Looking back, Panettiere said she did not understand the consequences of what was happening at such a young age.

“I had no idea that this was not an appropriate thing, or what door that would open for me when it came to my addiction.”

As she grew older, she said the situation became increasingly difficult to control.

“But things kept getting out of control [off set],” she admitted.

“And as I got older, the drugs and alcohol became something I almost couldn’t live without.”

Panettiere also revealed that her problems with alcohol intensified while she struggled with postpartum depression following the 2014 birth of her daughter, Kaya, whom she shared with former heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko.

Eventually, the physical consequences became impossible to ignore.

The actress was hospitalized with jaundice as her liver function deteriorated.

“Doctors told me my liver was going to give out,” she said.

The warning became even more dire.

“A doctor told me that if I didn’t stop drinking, I’d be dead within five years,” she revealed in her book.

Now, investigators are trying to determine exactly what happened during Panettiere’s final hours — and whether a pill she may have believed was oxycodone was actually contaminated with fentanyl.

Until toxicology testing is completed, that remains an investigative theory rather than an officially established cause of death.

But if investigators’ suspicions are confirmed, the actress’s death could have come down to a devastatingly small amount of a drug she may never have intended to take.

A former television news anchor is facing the possibility of spending decades behind bars after admitting to killing her own 80-year-old mother in a brutal stabbing inside their Kansas home.

Angelynn “Angie” Mock, 48, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the death of her mother, Anita Avers, bringing the disturbing case closer to its conclusion nearly a year after the deadly encounter.

Mock entered the plea before Sedgwick County District Judge Faith Johnson. She now faces a presumptive life sentence and would not become eligible for parole until she has served at least 25 years.

Her sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 5 at 11 a.m.

The horrifying chain of events unfolded shortly before 8 a.m. on Halloween 2025, when Wichita police were dispatched to a residence in the 1500 block of East Crowley following a report of a stabbing.

When officers arrived, they encountered Mock outside the home. She had blood on her body and injuries to her hands.

Inside the residence, police found Avers lying unresponsive in her bed after suffering multiple stab wounds. She was rushed to a hospital but could not be saved.

Investigators later reported discovering multiple kitchen knives and a cheese grater on a pillow near Avers. Blood was reportedly found on the objects, while investigators documented numerous holes in the bedding that were consistent with stabbing.

But the details Mock allegedly provided investigators afterward made the case even more chilling.

Ex-TV anchor Angelynn Mock admits to stabbing own mom to death on Halloween after believing she was the devil https://t.co/wXJGnSeKrZ pic.twitter.com/jt5dKEP0LC

— New York Post (@nypost) August 26, 2026

According to a probable cause affidavit, Mock gave authorities differing accounts of what had happened inside the home.

She reportedly claimed she entered her mother’s bedroom to talk about an upcoming job interview and discovered Avers sharpening knives.

Mock alleged that her mother then attacked her with a knife and said, “I know you’re f—ing Jesus Christ.”

Mock told investigators that she fought back, managed to obtain a knife and attempted to retreat while Avers continued moving toward her.

“I had to kill her, she wasn’t going to stop,” Mock told investigators, according to the affidavit.

Court records described additional statements that appeared to indicate Mock believed the woman she was fighting was not actually her mother, but the devil.

“I’d kill that b***h to have my mom back any day. I don’t even know who she is anymore. I know, I believe she’s the devil,” Mock allegedly said.

A neighbor also described a startling encounter outside the home as the violence came to an end.

Alyssa Castro said Mock approached the vehicle where Castro was sitting with her boyfriend while covered in blood and asked them to call 911.

“There was a woman who approached our vehicle with like blood, like her hands were filled, her body was filled with blood, asking to call 911,” Castro said.

“I asked her if she was OK, and she was pretty shaken up and she seemed scared, and she just ran off,” she added.

The criminal proceedings did not immediately move forward.

Questions surrounding Mock’s competency delayed the case for months. In January, a judge determined she was incompetent to stand trial and ordered her to undergo evaluation and treatment at Larned State Hospital.

That determination eventually changed.

By July, a Sedgwick County judge concluded that Mock had regained competency and was capable of proceeding with the criminal case.

The probable cause affidavit also revealed details about Mock’s reported mental-health history.

Her stepfather told investigators that Mock had previously been diagnosed with bipolar disorder before that diagnosis was later changed to schizoaffective disorder.

He also described previous episodes in which Mock allegedly claimed that people around her were “robots” and “not real people.” He reportedly discussed previous angry outbursts and psychiatric treatment as well.

Despite those incidents, Mock’s stepfather characterized her relationship with Avers as generally close, with what he described as ordinary tensions between a mother and daughter.

The background of both women adds another tragic dimension to the case.

Avers was a licensed clinical marriage and family therapist whose professional biography stated that she worked with adults dealing with depression, anxiety, trauma and mood disorders. She also treated couples and families struggling with relationship difficulties.

Mock, meanwhile, spent years working in television journalism.

She was a morning anchor at KTVI Fox 2 in St. Louis from 2011 until 2015 and previously worked as a sports reporter at KLKN in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Following an investigation by the Wichita Police Department’s homicide unit, the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office charged Mock with first-degree murder in November 2025.

Her decision to plead guilty means there will be no jury trial.

Instead, the case now moves directly to sentencing, where Mock is expected to receive a life sentence.

Under the presumptive punishment, the former television anchor would have to spend at least 25 years behind bars before she could even seek parole.

After years of fiery clashes, viral arguments and regularly finding herself outnumbered at the table on “The Five,” the liberal Fox News personality has secured a new three-year contract with the network.

The deal keeps one of the show’s most recognizable political counterweights in place even as “The Five” moves forward with a revamped lineup.

For Tarlov, the new agreement sends a clear message about how the network views her role.

“It’s always a great affirmation of your seat at the table,” Tarlov said of the new deal. “No matter how contentious it looks or difficult or terrible to some people, that you’re a valued element in this discourse.”

Tarlov occupies the rotating liberal seat on a program otherwise anchored by conservative personalities Jesse Watters, Greg Gutfeld and newly installed permanent co-host Emily Compagno, along with Dana Perino.

That frequently puts Tarlov in the middle of some of the show’s most contentious exchanges.

And she knows she doesn’t have much time to make her case.

Tarlov said she generally gets about 90 seconds to deliver her argument, forcing her to make every second count.

“If I’m going to get 90 seconds, I want to make the most of it,” she stated.

One strategy is to disarm the rest of the table before jumping into the disagreement.

Tarlov said she’ll sometimes open with humor or a backhanded compliment—something she describes as her “olive branch”—before making her argument.

But viewers watching the heated exchanges on television might be surprised by what happens after the cameras turn off.

According to Tarlov, her personal relationships with some of her biggest ideological opponents on the program are far warmer than their television battles suggest.

“Jesse Watters and Greg Gutfeld actually care about me as a person,” she revealed. “And that doesn’t make them soften their political opinions, even though I think that they should in some cases, especially when they’re enormously wrong.”

Those relationships aren’t limited to polite conversations in the hallway.

Tarlov said she and Gutfeld regularly exchange text messages during the week. She has visited his apartment and attended his daughter’s first birthday party.

She also communicates with Watters’ wife, Emma DiGiovine, and has socialized away from the Fox studios with Perino and Compagno.

For Tarlov, maintaining those relationships comes down to drawing a line between political disagreements and personal relationships.

“‘[It’s about] fundamentally understanding them as people and how they think about politics,” as opposed to seeing them as “a set of political opinions.”

That distinction has become an important part of Tarlov’s role on a program built around political disagreement.

The on-air battles can be intense, but Tarlov said she has learned that politics doesn’t necessarily consume the personal lives of the colleagues she debates every day.

Her time on “The Five” has also included moments far more personal than political.

Tarlov’s father died from cancer linked to 9/11 while she was pregnant with her first daughter, Cleo.

She has spoken emotionally about that loss on the air and recalled one occasion when her grief became impossible to keep contained.

“There was great relief and also discomfort,” she said, “because I had gotten to the point where it had to be addressed almost, when you’re walking around with something that’s so bottled up. …No one wants anyone to be looking at them while they’re crying. I’m also a very ugly crier, so I didn’t want that to be going on for too long.”

Tarlov said her colleagues backed off during that deeply personal moment.

Now, Fox is making clear that the political sparring will continue.

The network recently made Emily Compagno a permanent co-host of “The Five,” joining Gutfeld, Watters and Perino, while Tarlov and Harold Ford Jr. continue rotating through the show’s liberal seat.

The arrangement means Tarlov will continue walking into a television environment where she is frequently outnumbered politically.

But that is also precisely what has made her role distinctive.

The arguments, interruptions and ideological clashes aren’t pushing her out the door.

Instead, Fox has handed Tarlov another three years to keep making her case from across the table.