Orangetown police are investigating the 28-year-old's death at his Nyack apartment. He was a well-known voice over actor and the brother of actress Hayden Panettiere.
He was also an aspiring artist who said he used art to cope with anxiety and depression.
Artist Michael Delaney says he met Panettiere on Broadway in Nyack a few years ago when Panettiere sold him a hot dog as part of a fundraiser he was helping his mother with.
Panettiere noticed the paint on Delaney's clothes and the two talked about art.
Delaney says he ran into Panettiere a few times after that, and he was always laughing and playing around with a group of friends.
“It's just very sad when anyone young dies, especially with someone so talented with seemingly such a bright future ahead of them,” Delaney says.
He encourages people to look at Panettiere's art in his honor.
Investigators are still working to figure out why Jansen died.