Hayden Panettiere's on-and-off partner Brian Hickerson has released a statement via his attorney, the first public comment since the Heroes actor's death.

Panettiere died August 16 at an apartment in Greenville, South Carolina aged 36.

The grieving mother told NBC News: “This person in her life that we have been trying to get rid of for quite some time was with her at her death, and that was Brian Hickerson.”