Hayden Panettiere’s late brother 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 – whose shock death on Sunday at the age of 28 has left his sister ‘inconsolable’ – 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’.
Hayden Panettiere’s late brother Jansen was discovered ‘unresponsive’ in his New York home on Sunday by friends who grew ‘concerned’ when he failed to show up to a meeting
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
Jansen’s father, Alan ‘Skip’ Panettiere (seen with his son in 2007), was one of the first to arrive on the scene
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.’
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.’
The actor was found in a chair in his apartment in Nyack, New York (exterior pictured), which is located just a stone’s throw from the town of Palisades, where he and Hayden grew up
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’
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.
Hayden (seen with her brother left in 2008 and right in 2013) has been left ‘inconsolable’ by Jansen’s death, a source close to the actress told DailyMail.com
Jansen shared the final photo of himself on Instagram on February 6, posting a photo of some street art while joking in the caption: ‘Graffiti is illegal’
In January, Jansen shared a series of photobooth photos on Instagram in which he is seen kissing his girlfriend, ICU nurse Catherine Michie
‘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.
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.
