Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, tested negative for carbon monoxide poisoning officials said Friday as they continue to investigate what caused the couple’s deaths.
The pair were found dead at their Santa Fe, New Mexico, home Wednesday. Hackman likely died more than a week earlier — on Feb. 17, the last day his pacemaker recorded an “event,” Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said at a Friday news conference.
“I think that is a very good assumption, that that was his last day of life,” Mendoza said.
Both Hackman and Arakawa tested negative for carbon monoxide poisoning, Mendoza said, but added that the pathologist would be the one to rule out the poisonous gas as the cause of death.
He also said it was likely neither Hackman nor Arakawa had a fatal fall, because there was “no trauma indicated on the body,” he said Friday.
Investigators have called the deaths “suspicious” as they found no obvious signs of a gas leak, no signs of foul play, and nothing out of place at the sprawling property. Adding to the mystery was that one dog, a German Shepherd, was found dead and two other dogs were found alive on the property.
Authorities are working to nail down a timeline of the private couple’s final days.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office was called to the home on Old Sunset Trail on Wednesday afternoon after a maintenance worker arrived but no one answered the door. Neighborhood security checked on the residence and saw the couple on the ground and unresponsive through a window, officials said.
The body of Arakawa, 65, was found on a bathroom floor with a space heater near her head. An open prescription bottle was found on the counter with pills “scattered on the counter-top,” according to an affidavit. The German Shepherd was found a few feet away in a closet in the bathroom.
Hackman, 95, was found dead in a mudroom near the kitchen, according to the warrant.
Another question investigators are looking to answer is whether the couple died at the same time.
A responding deputy who found the space heater near Arakawa said in a probable cause summary for the search warrant “the heater could have fallen in the event the female abruptly fell to the ground.” The deputy also observed finding Hackman in the mudroom with a walking cane, and a pair of sunglasses near his body. The deputy suspected Hackman may have suddenly fallen.
Toxicology reports and autopsies that are underway will be key to figuring out what happened to the Hollywood star and his wife, Mendoza said. However, toxicology reports can take up to three months or longer, he noted.
Initial autopsy findings noted no external trauma to either Hackman or his wife. The sheriff said information on the pills found near Arakawa, as well as other medications possibly in the home, was collected and handed to the Office of the Medical Investigator.
Thyroid medication, Diltiazem blood pressure medication, Tylenol, and records from MyQuest — a health appointment and lab results portal — were taken from the home in Thursday’s search warrant.
Hackman, an Oscar-winning actor known for starring in the films “The French Connection,” “The Conversation” and “Unforgiven,” had retired from acting after performing in “Welcome to Mooseport” in 2004.
