The family shared the news on Friday in a statement uploaded to his Instagram account. Putnam County Coroner Todd Zeiner was notified of a deceased individual at a residence in west-central Putnam County on March 20. Upon arrival, Zeiner observed an adult male positioned as if asleep, who had been pronounced deceased by medical personnel prior to his arrival.
A close friend had been staying at the house overnight before his passing, and the death occurred close to when the body was first discovered. Zeiner said there were no signs of foul play, and nothing at the scene indicated the death was anything other than natural. However, the results of both an autopsy and toxicology tests have yet to be revealed.
The family noted that while it's no secret that Nicholas had struggles in the past, he was on medications and treatment to manage his diagnosis and he was optimistic about the future at the time of his passing. The specific diagnosis Brendon was undergoing treatment for at the time of his death has not been disclosed. Brendon was best known for playing Xander Harris in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Kevin Lynch in Criminal Minds.
His family highlighted his artistic side, stating that most people know Nicky for his work as an actor and for the characters he brought to life over the years, and adding that in recent years Nicky has found his passion in painting and art. They described him as passionate, sensitive, and endlessly driven to create, noting that those who truly knew him understood that his art was one of the purest reflections of who he was. In recent years, Brendon faced significant health challenges.
He suffered a heart attack in 2022 before being diagnosed with a congenital heart defect, and he had previously opened up about addiction struggles and health battles including cauda equina syndrome. According to Daily Mail - Home, Brendon described a fan's comment as 'a really sweet thing to say' in a video about a year before his death. His final public appearance was a video posted about a year before his death, answering fan questions on Instagram Live.
The family concluded their statement by saying that they ask for privacy during this time as they grieve his loss and celebrate the life of a man who lived with intensity, imagination and heart.