Years of text messages between Hayden Panettiere and a person described by law-enforcement sources as her longtime drug dealer have become a major focus of the federal investigation into the actress’s death, as authorities attempt to determine where the drugs she allegedly obtained before traveling to South Carolina came from.

TMZ reported that investigators have obtained numerous messages stretching back years and continuing until the week Panettiere died. Sources with direct knowledge of the investigation told the outlet that the conversations contain specific discussions about purchasing pills on the black market.

“There are a slew of messages about drugs,” one source told TMZ.

Investigators are now examining those communications as they attempt to reconstruct Panettiere’s alleged drug purchases and determine whether any substances she obtained can be connected to her Aug. 16 death.

The messages potentially give investigators something more concrete than witness recollections: a written history that could help establish who Panettiere was communicating with, what she allegedly requested and when transactions may have occurred.

But one critical question remains unanswered.

The Greenville County Coroner’s Office has not announced Panettiere’s official cause or manner of death, and toxicology testing remains pending. Her representatives have urged the public not to treat information attributed to unnamed sources as confirmed findings while authorities continue investigating.

Texts Allegedly Continued Until Week of Her Death

According to TMZ, Panettiere and the suspected supplier communicated about black-market pills over a period of years.

The outlet reports those conversations continued through the week she died.

Investigators are said to be particularly interested in the specificity of the messages, which sources characterize as discussions involving the purchase of controlled substances outside legitimate medical channels.

The alleged communications could become significant if investigators are eventually able to match a drug discussed in the messages with substances recovered during the investigation or detected through toxicology testing.

For now, that connection has not been publicly established.

TMZ previously reported that law-enforcement sources believe Panettiere took what she thought was an oxycodone pill on the morning she died and suspect it contained fentanyl. Those same sources have described that scenario as investigators’ working theory while acknowledging that toxicology testing is essential to determining whether it is correct.

The Los Angeles Times separately reported that DEA agents and local investigators have questioned several people while examining whether Panettiere obtained drugs from a Southern California supplier. Investigators have focused in part on a pill described as counterfeit oxycodone, according to sources familiar with the probe.

No one has been publicly charged with supplying Panettiere with a drug connected to her death.

DEA Searched Panettiere’s Los Angeles Home

Federal investigators have also taken their search directly to Panettiere’s residence.

DEA agents executed a search warrant at her Los Angeles home on Aug. 25, nine days after her death, according to TMZ.

Sources told the outlet that agents were looking for evidence involving black-market controlled substances, including drugs that could be tested to determine whether they contained fentanyl. Investigators were also reportedly looking for drug paraphernalia and other evidence that could help identify potential suppliers.

That search, combined with the alleged text history, shows how much of the investigation has shifted toward reconstructing what happened before Panettiere arrived in South Carolina.

The Los Angeles Times reported that DEA agents and local authorities have questioned multiple people about the source of drugs and medications potentially connected to her death.

Panettiere was found unresponsive at a Greenville residence on Aug. 16. Authorities said she was in cardiac arrest and could not be revived.

Investigators Trying to Trace the Supply Chain

The investigation now spans both sides of the country.

South Carolina authorities are handling the death investigation itself, while federal investigators are examining the alleged drug supply in Southern California.

TMZ reports that Panettiere’s boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, has spoken with the DEA. Sources told the outlet that investigators were attempting to identify the person who may have supplied drugs potentially connected to Panettiere’s death.

Investigators may now have a lengthy electronic trail to examine.

If the messages are authenticated and investigators can connect them to particular transactions, they could potentially help authorities establish a timeline of alleged purchases and identify the people involved.

They do not, by themselves, establish that any particular drug killed Panettiere.

That determination still depends heavily on the forensic evidence.

Panettiere’s Team Urges Caution

Panettiere’s representative has pushed back against the growing amount of information being reported through anonymous sources.

Her team said there has been “conflicting information” circulating publicly and stressed that the official investigation remains incomplete.

The Greenville County Coroner’s Office has similarly said the case remains under investigation while toxicology testing is completed.

That leaves an important line between what investigators are reportedly examining and what authorities have officially determined.

Law-enforcement sources say investigators suspect Panettiere obtained black-market pills in Los Angeles. TMZ reports years of text messages with an alleged supplier are now central to the DEA investigation. Federal agents searched her home for drug-related evidence, and the Los Angeles Times reports investigators are examining the Southern California supply chain.

What authorities have not yet publicly established is whether a counterfeit pill contained fentanyl, whether such a pill caused Panettiere’s death or whether a particular individual supplied a fatal substance.

Those answers may ultimately come from the toxicology results and whatever investigators can corroborate from the electronic evidence.

For now, the years of alleged messages provide investigators with a potentially significant trail.

But the official cause of Hayden Panettiere’s death remains pending.