Hayden Panettiere has broken down in tears over the death of her brother, Jansen.
The petite actress’ eyes welled up as she said she was very sad about her sibling’s sudden passing in her first interview since his death.
The beauty – who was in Los Angeles last week – was on Good Morning America in New York City to discuss her role in the movie Scream VI, which comes out March 10. Host Michael Strahan offered his condolences.
‘He’s right here with me,’ she said of her brother who died at the age of 28 after being found dead in his New York apartment on February 19.
Her eyes welled up with tears and she put her hand to her heart when Michael brought up her brother’s massing.
Heartbreaking: Hayden Panettiere has broken down in tears over the death of her brother, Jansen
Heartache: ‘He’s right here with me,’ she said of her brother who died at the age of 28 after being found dead in his New York apartment on February 19
The big sit down: The star was talking to Michael Strahan as she talked to GMA on Monday
His cause of death was an enlarged heart.
The actress, 33, looked chic in a cream shirt which was tucked into a pair of black flared trousers.
She boosted her height in a pair of chunky gold heels and hid her eyes behind a pair of dark sunglasses.
Hayden bundled up in a beige fur trim coat as she flashed a smile and waved at onlookers as she arrived.
While on the show she also said it was great to be back to acting after taking time off from Hollywood for her ‘mental health.’
Starring in a Scream movie involved a little bit of shoving it turns out. She called the producers: ‘I found out [I was cast in the movie] after I called up to talk about the movie… it slowly came out and developed.’
She added the producers ‘like to keep their secrets’ as she said there are surprises in the film while adding she loved that it was filmed in New York City, where she grew up.
Panettiere recently paid tribute to her beloved younger brother’s ‘warmth and compassion for others.’
In a statement, the family said: ‘Jansen’s heart could be seen in his eyes, and his charm in his brilliant, engaging smile; his soul in his masterful and revealing paintings, and the joy of life in his dry wit.
Smiling though the pain: The petite actress’ eyes welled up as she said she was very sad about her sibling’s sudden passing
Tough days: The beauty was on Good Morning America to discuss her role in the movie Scream VI. Host Strahan offered his condolences
‘His charisma, warmth, compassion for others, and his creative spirit will live forever in our hearts and in the hearts of all whom he encountered.
‘Though it offers little solace, the Medical Examiner reported Jansen’s sudden passing was due to cardiomegaly (enlarged heart), coupled with aortic valve complications.
‘We sincerely appreciate the outpouring of love and support towards our family as we navigate this unthinkable loss, and ask that we be gifted our privacy during this time of mourning.
‘We love you so much Jansen and you will be in our hearts forever.’
A source told Daily Mail las week that Panettiere ‘is in the grieving process right now, but the reports that she is headed for a relapse are utter and complete BS.’
She feels him near: His cause of death was an enlarged heart, it was shared last week
Grieving: Panettiere put on a brave face as she arrived at Good Morning America in New York City on Monday
The comments come after Hayden has been ‘inconsolable’ over her brother’s death, with neighbors telling DailyMail.com that Jansen had been abusing prescription painkillers – believed to be Oxycodone – and had been ‘popping them like gumballs’ over the years.
Sources said that Jansen seemed to have sobered up after completing a stint in rehab last year, before falling off the wagon again in recent months.
‘Jansen was her brother, and he was also her best friend,’ the source continued. ‘She talked to him every day and he never judged her. Without him she would not have had the success she has, and she will be the first to say this.’
‘So, she feels incomplete and broken, but she is not spiraling by any means,’ the source continued.
‘She is being strong because she must be and says that one of the hardest parts is that she still goes to call or text him and realizes that she can’t. She knows that he is watching over her from above and the last thing that she wants to do right now is get f**d up.
‘Hayden is surrounded by so much love and support from her family and friends. There is not one second of the day where she is alone at this time. No one would allow her to slip, and it is just horrible that anyone would say otherwise.
Gorgeous: The actress, 33, looked chic in a cream shirt which was tucked into a pair of black flared trousers
Jansen Panettiere was found dead on February 19 at his apartment in Nyack, New York – he reportedly died ‘from an enlarged heart’ according to a statement issued by his relatives, who say it was confirmed by the Medical Examiner (pictured together in 2019)
This has made everyone in her life come together and she is trying to find a silver lining in this because she knows that he would not want her to be in pain.’
In a statement, the family said: ‘Jansen’s heart could be seen in his eyes, and his charm in his brilliant, engaging smile; his soul in his masterful and revealing paintings, and the joy of life in his dry wit.
Neighbors say they wouldn’t be surprised if the actor-cum-artist had suffered a fatal overdose, saying Jansen was often seen returning to his apartment in the early hours of the morning looking ‘wasted’ and ‘shabbily dressed.’
One revealed The Walking Dead star lived at an apartment building on Main Street until a year and a half ago, when Jansen mysteriously disappeared from the scene for ‘a good year.’
‘He’d come out of a car at 4am wasted,’ said the local. ‘He said he was just coming back from a shoot. He looked destroyed.’
The neighbor described Jansen, who was born and raised in the Rockland County area, as a ‘regular, friendly’ and ‘unpretentious’ guy who never spoke about his famous sibling or his own work as an actor.
‘He was very nice guy, very friendly, he was an artist and an actor. Very friendly and generous; he would always offer me help,’ he added.
‘When he moved out of here; he disappeared. Then his father came and got his stuff out and said I have to get him out of here. Then he left for a year.’
The neighbor said Jansen ‘resurfaced’ in town at some point last year but had moved to another apartment a few blocks away.
‘When he left he probably went into rehab. He moved out, his dad grabbed his stuff,’ the neighbor added.
‘When he came back he looked okay in the beginning. He looked like a different person. He came back straightened up. Then he went downhill from there.’
Jansen’s body was discovered in his New York home by three friends who found him ‘unresponsive’ in a chair and desperately tried to revive him with CPR, a chilling police report has revealed.
Friends of the actor and artist grew ‘concerned’ when Jansen failed to show up to a prearranged meeting and went to check on him at his home in Nyack, just a stone’s throw from the town of Palisades, where he and Hayden spent their childhood.
Upon arrival, the friends – who have been identified as Benjamin Brown, Joe Fails, and Lars Arianti – found Jansen ‘sitting upright in a chair unresponsive’ and desperately began performing CPR in the hopes of reviving him.
Fails phoned 911, while another got in touch with Jansen and Hayden’s father, Alan ‘Skip’ Panettiere, who arrived on the scene as Brown was doing chest compressions.
Skip told EMTs that he had spoken to his son ‘via telephone the night before’ and that he had ‘sounded okay’.
When EMTs arrived at Jansen’s home, he was ‘laying on his back on the living room floor, not breathing, and cold to the touch with lividity’; the 28-year-old was pronounced dead on arrival by a Nyack EMT at 5:11PM.
‘Deceased was pronounced dead on arrival by an EMT,’ the report continued. ‘There were no obvious signs of trauma observed.’
Friends of the 28-year-old who discovered his body began performing CPR in a desperate attempt to revive him, but EMTs pronounced him DOA when they arrived at the apartment last month
According to Orangetown Police Sgt. Peter Maher, there is no cause of death yet.
‘As part of this ongoing investigation we are awaiting an official determination of the cause of death from the Rockland County Medical Examiner,’ he told DailyMail.com.
The police report was released to the public just hours after a source close to Hayden revealed that she had been left ‘inconsolable’ by the loss of her only brother and ‘best friend’ – who had been battling ‘terrible anxiety and depression’ before his death.
According to the insider, Jansen had been ‘having a rough time lately with his career’ and felt as though he was ‘being dragged in so many directions’.
‘He had been having a rough time lately with his career and he was dragged in so many directions,’ the source shared.
‘Hayden is just inconsolable. He was her best friend and her only brother. He was such a nice guy but he lived on the edge.’
According to a biography on Jansen’s website, the former actor-turned-artist had been struggling with ‘terrible anxiety and depression’ as an adult, a condition that was triggered while he was living in Los Angeles.
‘After spending time in LA as an adult he was ridden with terrible anxiety and depression,’ the website states – noting that Jansen would later find ‘healing’ in his artwork.
On a separate website that highlighted his graffiti work, Jansen also admitted that he had experimented with drugs in the past, writing: ‘I AM a good person. I don’t do anything illegal illegal or at least I don’t do illegal things that hurt people in front of me, if that makes sense.
‘I’ve done drugs but I don’t steal. Not to say that anyone that’s ever stolen something is a bad person and far from it. Meaning I have my moments like everyone else.’
‘I was frustrated with the whole acting thing so I would take it out on weird things like clothes.’
After leaving Los Angeles, Jansen had been living in an apartment in Nyack, just a stone’s throw from the quaint town of Palisades, where he and Hayden grew up.
Angelina Jolie also grew up in the area, and it has been home to a number of stars over the years, including Al Pacino, Bill Murray, and veteran broadcaster Diane Sawyer.
Hayden and Jansen were last seen together less than one month before his death. Jansen shared a picture of Hayden cutting his hair on January 24.
‘Not the first haircut she’s tried to give me,’ he joked in the caption.
He also posted a throwback of the duo from a rafting trip on November 4, 2022.
He shared his last post over the weekend, featuring a new snap of his graffiti artwork.
On January 12, Jansen had also shared a series of images of himself in a photobooth with his apparent girlfriend, ICU nurse Catherine Michie.
The image collection showed the pair beaming happily for the cameras with their heads together, while one snap captured them sharing a sweet kiss.
He captioned the post, simply: ‘My babe.’
Hayden and Jansen were born to Lesley R. Vogel, a former soap opera actress, and Alan Lee Panettiere, a captain in the Fire Department of New York City.
Jansen, who was five years younger that his sister, followed Hayden’s footsteps into acting. His IMDb lists the 2022 comedy Love and Love Not as his last role.
Jansen’s father Skip (seen with his ex-wife Lesley and their two children) told EMTs that he had spoken to his son the night before his death, noting that he had ‘sounded okay’
His other work includes roles in The Walking Dead, Major Crimes, Shia LaBeouf’s TV show Even Stevens, Blue’s Clues, Ice Age: The Meltdown, and Robots.
He also had a recurring role as Truman X in The X’s on Nickelodeon.
The duo also worked together on Tiger Cruise in 2004, and Racing Stripes in 2005.
Jansen received a nomination for a Young Artist Award in 2008 for his work on The Last Day of Summer.
At the time of his death he was attached to five different projects.
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk