Hayden Panettiere's Mom Appears to Blame Brian Hickerson for Her Death

Hayden Panettiere's mom says someone toxic drove a wedge between them ... and she appears to be pointing the finger at Hayden's boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, for her daughter's death.

Lesley Vogel addressed her estrangement from Hayden in a statement shared with "Entertainment Tonight," saying ... "Although my daughter and I were estranged, it was not for lack of care or love."

She continued ... "It was due to the involvement of a toxic individual who I believe led to her death."

Lesley doesn't name Brian ... but there's little mystery about who she seems to be talking about.

As we reported, Lesley said earlier this week the family had been trying to get Brian out of Hayden's life "for quite some time" ... and pointed out he was with Hayden when she died.

In her new comments, Lesley says Hayden was a "beautiful and talented young woman" who became involved with "the wrong person" ... adding the family tried to get him out of her life but couldn't.

The remarks come one day after Gayle King shared her hatred for Lesley's statement and blasted the former momager for publicly discussing Hayden's addiction struggles and troubled relationship with Brian after her death.

The mother-daughter relationship had already been badly fractured.

Hayden opened up about their difficult relationship in her recent memoir, "This Is Me: A Reckoning" ... and when Lesley later dismissed the book as a money grab, Hayden said her mother's comments essentially slammed the door shut on any reconciliation.

Brian also jumped into the family feud at the time ... telling TMZ he couldn't stand Lesley, who clearly wasn't a fan of his either.