A teenager in Nebraska died under mysterious circumstances while working at a hog farm founded by the state’s governor and run by his daughter, with officials accused of neglecting a thorough investigation for his grieving mother.
Zach Panther, 17, was found dead six weeks after starting a job at Beaver Valley Pork farms in St. Edward, Nebraska – a tiny town with about 700 residents roughly two hours west of Omaha – last April 1.
The teen had been sealing cracks in a barn with chemical-laden spray foam before his supervisor found him on the floor, according to The New York Times.
Panther’s death was not seen by any other farm employees, and there were no signs of foul play.
Beaver Valley Pork is one of the hog operations linked to Pillen Family Farms, a family business that has owned or operated more than 100 farms across Nebraska.
The company was founded by state governor Jim Pillen in 1993. His daughter Sarah has been the co-chief executive of the business since January 2020, per her public LinkedIn profile.
Investigations by government agencies couldn’t determine how the 17-year-old died and were allegedly slowed down by mistakes and poor information sharing.
‘My son is dead,’ Justy Riggs-Panther, Zach’s mom, told the outlet. ‘There ought to be answers.’
Zach Panther, 17, was found dead last April 1 at Beaver Valley Pork farms in St. Edward, Nebraska
The farm is linked to Pillen Family Farms, which is operated by Nebraska governor Jim Pillen’s daughter Sarah. She has been the co-CEO of the business since January 2020
After her son’s death, the sheriff and deputies from the Boone County Sheriff’s Office only allegedly examined the room where he died, and not much else.
The Nebraska farm allegedly blocked timely testing from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), while a recommended blood test for spray foam chemicals was also disrupted when the lab accidentally destroyed the usable sample.
Sarah Pillen, the co-CEO of Pillen Family Farms, said the company had ‘fully cooperated’ with the investigation into Zach’s death.
She told OSHA of Zach’s death when it happened, which was marked down in the call log by an agency employee with notes including ‘had been foaming’, ‘insulation’, ‘head injury’ and ‘poss[ible] medical episode.’
‘While we share the frustration that some of the issues which led to his passing remain unanswered, we understand those investigations have been closed, and there have been no safety violations attributable to the workplace,’ she told The New York Times.
However, Sarah Pillen was accused of refusing entry to an OSHA industrial hygienist who came to inspect the farm.
‘We simply requested that OSHA follow our established biosecurity protocols,’ she said.
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen’s name was mentioned in emails related to the investigation into the teen boy’s death
‘It is important to note that Pillen Family Farms is affiliated with Governor Jim Pillen of Nebraska,’ OSHA Omaha director Matthew Thurlby allegedly wrote in an email
At the time of Zach’s death last year, Pillen said his loss left the farm company ‘profoundly saddened.’
‘Though his employment with our team was very brief, he positively impacted those he worked with,’ she told the New Zealand Herald.
Pillen added: ‘We deeply mourn Zach’s passing and extend our prayers to his loved ones during this very difficult time.’
Her father’s name was also mentioned as part of the inquiry into Zach’s death, per the outlet.
The OSHA Omaha director, Matthew Thurlby, sent an email last April, in which he wrote: ‘It is important to note that Pillen Family Farms is affiliated with Governor Jim Pillen of Nebraska.’
He added: ‘This is the family business.’
The context and nature of those emails has not been explained.
Zach died about six weeks after starting a job at Beaver Valley Pork. He was found by his supervisor after sealing cracks in a barn using spray foam
Zach was hired as a part-time maintenance trainee at the Nebraska hog farm last February, according to the outlet.
His duties included sealing up cracks on the property, which he joked to his mom was held together by duct tape and spray foam.
Riggs-Panther said she noticed her son removing pieces of orange foam off his arms at least three different times.
The material originated from the Great Stuff wide spray, which can be found at Home Depot and contains a hazardous chemical called isocyanate.
Isocyanate can cause skin irritation and difficulty breathing, according to OSHA.
Riggs-Panther, Zach’s mom, said steps need to be taken to ‘make sure that nothing else happens to anybody else’ on farms.
However, she was unsure about the investigation that had taken place in the wake of her son’s passing.
![A phone call placed after Zach's death described his condition as 'had been foaming,' 'insulation,' 'head injury' and having suffered a 'poss[ible] medical episode'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/12/30/18/105111493-15422657-A_phone_call_placed_after_Zach_s_death_described_his_condition_a-a-5_1767117763401.jpg)
A phone call placed after Zach’s death described his condition as ‘had been foaming,’ ‘insulation,’ ‘head injury’ and having suffered a ‘poss[ible] medical episode’
OSHA said the farm did not have any workplace violations. The investigation into Zach’s death determined that an allergic reaction to spray foam was ‘unlikely’ to have caused his passing
Earlier this year, Riggs-Panther asked for a tissue sample from Zach’s autopsy so that she could independently test it.
However, the petition was refused by the county attorney, per The New York Times.
The farm did not incur any workplace violations at the time of Zach’s death, according to OSHA.
The investigation into Zach’s death was ‘supported by multiple consultations with medical experts,’ Courtney Parella, the assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Labor, said.
OSHA closed the inquiry in September and said that an allergic reaction to spray foam was ‘unlikely’ to have caused Zach’s death.
But his mother remains on the search for answers, more than one year after her son’s passing at the Nebraska hog farm.
Riggs-Panther said: ‘The idea that maybe it could have been preventable is really intolerable, but how do you know what to do to keep it from happening again when you don’t know what happened in the first place?’
The Daily Mail has reached out to Jim Pillen’s office, Sarah Pillen, Pillen Family Farms, and the Boone County Sheriff’s Office for further comment.
