Two-time Oscar winner Gene Hackman, 95, and wife Betsy Arakawa, 63, could have been dead for quite some time when authorities discovered their deceased bodies in separate rooms in their Santa Fe mansion.
One of the couple’s dogs was also found dead.
Hackman’s daughter, Elizabeth, shared her grief over her dad’s tragic passing. Speaking to TMZ, she said, “The house is fairly modern, built in 2000, but we don’t know if there were any issues with gas leaks or if there were any recent service calls to the property.”
Since gas leak was ruled out, investigators are still scratching their heads over the possible cause of death of the Hollywood icon, his wife, and their dog.
According to the Associated Press, Hackman’s body was found in a mudroom, while Arakawa’s was in a bathroom next to a space heater.
While the Santa Fe sheriff’s office spokesperson, Denise Avila, said there was no indication of foul play, detectives noted in a search warrant affidavit that the deaths were “suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation.”
As stated in the publication, pills were scattered in the bathroom.
Daily Mail reported that the bodies of Hackman and his wife were partially mummified.
According to officials, it would take around three months for the toxicology report to come out.
“We’re trying to put together a timeline of when the decedents were last seen or spoken to,” Santa Fe County Sheriff Adam Mendoza told Today. He said it was “a challenge” because they were “very private individuals and a private family.”
He added: “Just based on their body and other evidence on the body, it appears [they had been deceased for] several days and possibly even up to a couple weeks.”
