Actress Hayden Panettiere and his family are mourning the death of his younger brother, Jansen Panettiere, at the age of 28.
Nearly a week after Jansen’s sudden death, her family said she died of an enlarged heart.
“Though it offers little comfort, the medical examiner reported that Jansen’s sudden passing was due to cardiomegaly (enlarged heart), along with aortic valve complications,” the family said in a statement to ABC News on Monday, February 27.
Police were called to a residence in New York on Sunday, February 19, where they found her body. No foul play is suspected at this time.
“Orangetown Police responded to 41 N. Broadway in Nyack on February 19, 2023 at 5:03 pm,” police said. In contact in a statement on Monday, February 20. “Our detectives are currently continuing an investigation based on that response, and we are unable to provide any further information at this time.”
The next day, the Orangetown Police Department released its initial report, obtained by In contact. He revealed that Jansen was already dead on the living room floor when authorities arrived, despite a friend performing CPR on him in an attempt to revive him. EMTs pronounced him dead at 5:11 pm The friend on scene said he was supposed to have a business meeting with Jansen, but he was concerned when he didn’t show up. Arriving at his apartment, he found the artist sitting in an unresponsive chair.
jansen’s father Alan Panettiere, responded to the scene and told police that he spoke to his son on the phone the night before and that it “sounded good.” Authorities are awaiting an official determination of the cause of death from the Rockland County Medical Examiner.
Jansen started out as a child actor like his sister, but worked as a professional artist throughout his adulthood. He was very active showcasing his work through Instagram, while describing himself on Twitter in 2020 as an “artist, actor, writer, director, producer, entrepreneur, environmental activist, creative mind.”
The bio on Jansen’s website, where fans could purchase his artwork, stated that he was “a New York-based artist who began painting his troubles.”
“Despite having been introduced to brushes and a canvas at a young age by his father, who was an amateur artist at the time. Jansen grew up in the entertainment industry with his sister, actress Hayden Panettiere, and played roles in the perfect game, the last day of summer, The Walking Dead and more,” he continued.
“After spending time in Los Angeles as an adult, I was filled with terrible anxiety and depression. This period of his life finally produced a spiritual clarity that led him to begin painting his problems, one by one,” the biography explains, adding: “With over 50 pieces, Jansen continues to heal himself and others with his visceral and emotional work.”
Hayden, 33, and Jansen were very close, with the artist working for his sister at the time of her death according to his employment history. He posted the last photo of him with his sister on Instagram on January 24, 2023, showing the smiling Nashville alum trimming her hair. “Not the first haircut he’s tried to give me,” she captioned the black-and-white snapshot.
Jansen shared another photo with Hayden in a post from November 4, 2022 where the couple were on an outdoor adventure getaway. “Throwback to rafting trip [sic]”, he wrote next to the photograph taken at the Delaware River Gap in Pennsylvania. The two went on other vacations together, including one in the South Pacific. “Brother time at amazing Tahiti market,” Hayden wrote alongside a photo of the couple in November 2021. Heroes alum has yet to release a statement regarding his brother’s death at press time.
