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Hayden Panettiere’s Younger Brother Jansen Dead at 28: Details on His Tragic Death
Actress Hayden Panettiere and her family are in mourning over the death of her younger brother, Jansen Panettiere, at the age of 28.
Nearly one week after Jansen’s sudden death, his family said he died from an enlarged heart.
“Though it offers little solace, the Medical Examiner reported Jansen’s sudden passing was due to cardiomegaly (enlarged heart), coupled 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 his body. No foul play is suspected at this time.
“The Orangetown Police responded to 41 N. Broadway in Nyack on February 19, 2023, at 5:03pm,” police told In Touch in a statement on Monday, February 20. “Our detectives are currently continuing an investigation from that response, and we cannot provide further information at this time.”
The following day, the Orangetown Police Department released its initial report, obtained by In Touch. It revealed that Jansen was already dead on the living room floor when authorities arrived, despite a friend performing CPR in an attempt to revive him. He was pronounced dead by EMTs at 5:11 p.m. The friend on scene said he was supposed to have a business meeting with Jansen but became concerned when he failed to show up. Upon arriving at his apartment, he found the artist sitting upright in a chair unresponsive.
Jansen’s father, Alan Panettiere, responded to the scene and told police he spoke to his son on the phone the night before and he “sounded OK.” Authorities are waiting for an official cause of death determination from the Rockland County Medical Examiner.
Jansen started out as a child actor like his sister but worked as a professional artist during his adult years. He was very active with showing his work via Instagram, while describing himself on Twitter in 2020 as an “artist, actor, writer, director, producer, entrepreneur, enviro-activist, creative mind.”
The biography on Jansen’s website where fans could shop his artwork said that he was “a New York-based artist who started painting his problems.”
“Despite having been introduced to paint 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, alongside his sister, actress Hayden Panettiere, and played roles in The Perfect Game, The Last Day of Summer, The Walking Dead and more,” it continued.
“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,” the bio explained, adding, “With more than 50 pieces, Jansen continues to heal himself as well as others with his visceral and emotive work.”
Hayden, 33, and Jansen were extremely close, with the artist working for his sister at the time of his death according to his employment history. He posted his last photo with his sister to Instagram on January 24, 2023, showing the smiling Nashville alum trimming his hair. “Not the first haircut she’s tried to give me,” he captioned the black and white snapshot.
Jansen shared another photo with Hayden in a November 4, 2022, post where the pair were on an adventurous outdoor getaway. “Throwback to rafting trip [sic],” he wrote next to the picture taken on the Delaware River Gap in Pennsylvania. The two had other vacations together, including one to the South Pacific. “Sibling time at the amaaaaazing market in Tahiti,” Hayden captioned a photo of the pair in November 2021. The Heroes alum has not yet released a statement about her brother’s death at the time of publication.
