An active investigation is underway into the deaths of Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman and his wife, classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, after their bodies were discovered “in a state of decomposition” along with one of their dogs in their New Mexico home, according to the local sheriff’s department.
According to the Associated Press, the local gas provider, the New Mexico Gas Co, was involved in the investigation, as was the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department, raising the possibility that carbon monoxide poisoning was to blame for the deaths.
The discovery of prescription pills near Arakawa’s body on Thursday, however, cast doubt on a possible gas leak and raised new questions about the situation.
Deputies found Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 65, in their home in Santa Fe’s Hyde Park neighborhood on Wednesday. The sheriff’s spokesperson stated that no foul play was suspected, but “the exact cause of death has not been determined.”
The spokesperson also stated that the cause of death was unlikely to be determined until autopsies were completed.
According to preliminary findings from a medical investigation, Hackman and Arakawa suffered “no external trauma,” the sheriff’s office announced on Thursday. The New York Times reported that no suicide note had been discovered.
Further questions were raised on Thursday in a search warrant obtained by the Guardian, which revealed new information about what deputies discovered during their initial visit.
The search warrant revealed that Hackman and Arakawa had been dead for some time before their bodies were discovered, as “the body was in a state of decomposition with bloating in her face and mummification in her hands and feet”.
A prescription bottle was also discovered on a kitchen countertop, with pills scattered throughout.
According to the search warrant, Arakawa was discovered on the floor of a bathroom near the countertop, next to a space heater that deputies suspected could have toppled and knocked her over. Hackman’s body was found in the house’s mud room, fully dressed in gray sweatpants and a long-sleeve T-shirt, and holding a cane.
Deputies suspected he had suffered a sudden fall.
According to the warrant, there were no gas leaks discovered during the initial search. According to the search warrant, the deaths were “suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation”.
“All I can say is that we are in the middle of a preliminary death investigation,” the Santa Fe County Sheriff, Adan Mendoza, told the Santa Fe New Mexican. Three German shepherds were present at the time deputies entered the property, one of whom was discovered dead inside a closet in the bathroom, about 10-15 feet from Arakawa’s body.
Hackman retired from Hollywood in 2004, and the couple had been living in New Mexico since then. They got married in 1991.
Barbara Lenihan, a longtime friend of the couple, told The New York Times that she spoke with Arakawa in January. At the time, Hackman appeared to be frail, but he remained active.
“They were always somewhat reclusive, even though everyone loved to be around them,” she told the newspaper.
Elizabeth Jean Hackman, the actor’s daughter and one of his three children with Faye Maltese, told TMZ that the family believed carbon monoxide poisoning was to blame.
She told the outlet that they were not sure, but they suspected toxic fumes were the cause of death.
