Jansen and Hayden Panettiere's Father Spoke to Son Shortly Before He Died at 28: Police

A police report from the Orangetown Police Department provides new details surrounding the former child actor's death

Hayden Panettiere (L) and Jansen Panettiere arrive at a screening of Freestyle Releasing's "Sharkwater Extinction" at the ArcLight Hollywood on January 31, 2019 in Hollywood, California.
Photo: Amanda Edwards/Getty

Jansen and Hayden Panettiere's father, Alan Lee "Skip" Panettiere, thought his son was doing just fine before his unexpected death.

In an Orangetown Police Department report obtained by PEOPLE, it's stated that Skip responded to the scene in the aftermath of his son's death. Skip informed investigators that "he spoke to [the] deceased via telephone the night before and he sounded okay," per the report.

PEOPLE confirmed on Monday that Jansen died in New York over the weekend. He was 28 years old.

The report states that Jansen's friend Benjamin Brown showed up to his Nyack apartment after Jansen failed to show up for a business meeting. Upon arrival, Brown found Jansen in his living room "sitting upright in a chair unresponsive".

Though Jansen was not breathing at the time and was cold to the touch, the friend performed CPR on him until first responders arrived.

When EMTs made it to the scene, they saw Jansen laying on his back on the floor of his living room and eventually pronounced him dead. His body was later transported to the Rockland County morgue, according to the report.

Hayden Panettiere, mom Leslie, brother Jansen and dad Skip
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty

While Jansen's cause of death is currently unknown, a source told TMZ no foul play was suspected. The report also indicated that "there were no obvious signs of trauma observed."

Hayden's brother followed in her Hollywood footsteps. He racked up several film and TV roles over the years, including on Even Stevens, The Walking Dead, The Martial Arts Kid, The X's, The Perfect Game and How High 2. He even appeared alongside the 33-year-old Nashville alum in her Disney Channel Original Movie, Tiger Cruise.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

His last on-screen appearance before his untimely death was in the 2022 holiday film Love and Love Not. According to his IMDb page, he had four upcoming projects in the works.

Aside from his Hollywood aspirations, Jansen had a love for art that he regularly shared across his Instagram page. One of his more recent uploads appeared to be a portrait of his girlfriend, Catherine Michie, which he captioned with a blue heart emoji.

Related Articles