New details have been released about the sudden death of Hollywood actor Jansen Panettiere.
Panettiere died shortly after 5 p.m. on Sunday at his apartment in Nyack, New York.
An unresponsive Panettiere was found by three of Jansen’s friends: Benjamin Brown, Joe Fails, and Lars Arianti. The friends grew “concerned” when Panettiere didn’t show up at a prearranged meeting the night before. The friends went to Pannettiere’s home and found the actor “sitting upright in a chair unresponsive.” The friends called 911 and attempted to revive Panettiere with CPR.
The initial report from the Orangetown Police Department said officers entered the apartment to find an “unresponsive male with CPR in progress.” Police arrived as Brown was performing CPR on Panettiere, who was lying on his back on the living room floor.
According to Fox News, “Panettiere was reportedly not breathing and was cold to the touch with lividity.”
Panettiere, 28, was pronounced dead at 5:11 p.m. on Sunday by a responding EMTs at the actor’s apartment.
Alan “Skip” Panettiere, Jansen’s father, reportedly told EMTs that he talked to Jansen “via telephone the night before” and he “sounded okay.”
Officers noted in the police report that “there were no obvious signs of trauma observed.”
Orangetown Police Sgt. Peter Maher said, “As part of this ongoing investigation we are awaiting an official determination of the cause of death from the Rockland County Medical Examiner.”
There were five lines of the police report that were redacted.
Panettiere’s cause of death was not immediately known. An investigation into his sudden death has been launched.
Catherine Michie, the reported girlfriend of Jansen, paid tribute to Panettiere.
“I met you only a year ago, but you have been my best friend and biggest fan,” Michie wrote on Instagram. “I will never forget the first time I saw your face and the first things you said to me. Words cannot express the pain of knowing I won’t hear your laugh again.”
“I hope you find peace, and I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you needed me most,” she continued. “The world is better because you were in it. I know we will paint together again someday. I’ll always be your sugarpop. Someone wake me up and tell me this is a dream.”
Like his celebrity sister Hayden Panettiere, Jansen began acting at a young age. Jansen started acting in 2002 and had 43 acting credits to his name.
Jansen had a recurring role as the character “Truman X” in the animated TV series “The X’s” on Nickelodeon. Panettiere also appeared in “The Walking Dead,” “Ice Age: The Meltdown,” “Even Stevens,” and “Perfect Game.” Most recently, Jansen appeared in the 2022 holiday movie “Love and Love Not.”
Hayden and Jansen appeared together in the 2004 TV movie “Tiger Cruise” and in the “Racing Stripes” animated TV show in 2005.
Jansen turned to painting after suffering “terrible anxiety and depression.”
Jansen’s website states, “After spending time in L.A. as an adult he was ridden with terrible anxiety and depression; this period in his life eventually produced a spiritual clarity that drove him to start painting his problems, one by one.”
Jansen is survived by his older sister and their parents.