Investigators are hoping the medical examiner can provide clues as to how Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa died — after the preliminary autopsy showed no signs of carbon monoxide poisoning.
The bodies of Hackman, 95, Arakawa, 65, and their dog were found when sheriff’s deputies responded to the couple’s home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, to conduct a welfare check on Feb. 26.
Local officials offered an update on the case during a live-streamed news conference on Friday, Feb. 28.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said the medical examiner’s “initial findings noted no external trauma to either individual,” adding, “both individuals tested negative for carbon monoxide.”
Related: Investigation Underway After Gene Hackman and His Wife Were Found Dead
Mendoza said the medical examiner determined Hackman’s pacemaker stopped working on Feb. 17, meaning he was likely deceased for nine days.
Official autopsy and toxicology reports are still pending, and could potentially provide more answers, according to the sheriff.
A person visiting the couple’s home on Feb. 26, noticed something was wrong and alerted neighborhood security.
“Security then checked on the residence and observed Mr. Hackman and Ms. Arakawa on the ground, unresponsive through a window and called 911,” the sheriff said.
TMZ obtained a copy of the 911 call. The caller identified himself as “caretaker” of the Santa Fe Summit subdivision where the couple lived.
The operator asked the man several questions. The distraught caretaker said “damn, damn, damn” and started to cry.
Dogs could be heard barking in the background. The operator asked the caretaker “are they breathing?”
“I have no idea. I am not inside the house. It’s closed. It’s locked. I can’t go in. But I see she’s laying down on the floor from the window,” the caretaker said. “They’re not moving. Just send somebody out here, really quick.”
Deputies arrived, made entry into the home, and found the bodies, Mendoza said.
The local gas company was called to the scene and found no signs of carbon monoxide, which is a colorless and odorless gas.
Hackman’s body was located in an entryway. Arakawa was found in a bathroom. She was on her side and a space heater was near her head. Investigators think she may have fallen and knocked over the space heater.
There was an open prescription bottle nearby, Mendoza said. Investigators also retrieved two cell phones and a 2025 monthly planner.
TMZ reports deputies obtained a search warrant to comb through the house. A detective wrote investigators found “the death of the two deceased individuals to be suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search.”
The detective added that deputies found “a healthy dog running loose on the property, another healthy dog near the deceased female, a deceased dog laying 10-15 feet from the deceased female in a closet of the bathroom.”
Hackman, an Oscar-winning actor; and Arakawa, a classical pianist, had been married since 1991.
Reporters asked the sheriff on Friday if there were security cameras in the couple’s home, and he said no.
“They were a very private family,” Mendoza explained.
Watch the news conference below:
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