Brian Hickerson broke a month of silence about Hayden Panettiere's death this week, and it lasted all of two sentences.

A photographer caught up with him outside a gas station in Greenville, South Carolina, on September 16. Asked how he was holding up, Hickerson shot back, "How do you think I'm doing?" When the photographer offered condolences anyway, he added, "Appreciate it. That's all I got for you, man." Then he was gone.

It's the first time Hickerson has said anything on record since Panettiere, 36, was found unresponsive in her South Carolina apartment on August 16. Emergency responders tried to revive her at the scene and failed. Investigators have said initial findings show no signs of physical trauma, but the case is far from closed — the Drug Enforcement Administration has joined local authorities in examining what's being treated as a suspected overdose, and toxicology results are still pending.

Hickerson's name has been attached to this story from the start. According to reports, he and his brother Zach were the ones who found Panettiere unconscious and called emergency services. Authorities say Hickerson cooperated with investigators when they arrived, reportedly handing over her medication for testing. He has not been named a suspect, and nobody in law enforcement has accused him of wrongdoing.

That hasn't stopped the questions. Panettiere and Hickerson had a relationship that ran hot and cold for years, one she herself has described as abusive in the past. Since her death, members of her family have spoken publicly about their unease over his presence in her life, and that history is doing a lot of work in keeping him under scrutiny even without any formal allegation tied to the death itself.

There's a separate wrinkle too. Hickerson was reportedly detained after an altercation at a bar in the weeks since Panettiere's death. His brother Zach was arrested on a disorderly conduct charge, while Brian was released without one. It has nothing to do with the death probe on paper, but it's kept his name in headlines regardless.

For now, everything hinges on the toxicology report and whatever the DEA finds when it traces her communications with an alleged drug supplier, a detail investigators have flagged but not elaborated on. Until that comes back, Hickerson's four sentences at a gas station are about as much as anyone's getting.