Hayden Panettiere's Mom Says She Pushed Cops to Investigate Death

Hayden Panettiere's mom says she gave the cops a little push to investigate her daughter's death ... which included her instantly placing blame on Brian Hickerson.

Lesley Vogel opened up about her daughter's death during an interview with The Daily Mail -- published Saturday -- in which she revealed she spoke with an officer at the scene of Hayden's death to inquire whether there would be further investigation.

Lesley says the officer specifically asked about Brian ... to which she says she replied, "I think he's culpable."

We broke the story -- the federal Drug Enforcement Administration later joined to help with the investigation as well.

Lesley fired off about Brian multiple times during the interview ... including calling into question his version of events.

As you know ... Brian's brother Zach Hickerson says he went over to Brian and Hayden's Airbnb after he hadn't heard from them -- at which time he says he woke Brian up from a nap and found the "Ice Princess" actress unresponsive. He then administered Narcan and started CPR with Brian, according to his recollection of events.

Lesley says she's not buying this ... claiming there's no way Brian could've slept through a person going into cardiac arrest in the next room.

She says, "I think Brian called his brother. My opinion. I think he knew she was deceased, called his brother ... and built this story." She's also alleging that -- when he says he left the apartment to run errands earlier in the day -- it was to buy Narcan to use on Hayden.

Brian hasn't said much publicly since Hayden died ... but he did release a statement through his lawyer, Sloan Ellis, which said, "Hayden's death remains under investigation, and it is important to allow that investigation to proceed."

In the wide-ranging interview, Lesley also fired off at the hate she's received for her statement after Hayden died ... hitting back at Gayle King and Megyn Kelly for their comments about her mothering.