The actor Gene Hackman was probably dead for nine days before he and his wife's body were discovered in their home in Santa Fe, NM at the beginning of this week.
The Oscar winner and Ms. Betsy Arakawa were found dead by one of the three dogs of the family on Wednesday. The authorities said there were no obvious signs of a foul, but the circumstances of their death guaranteed further investigations.
Adan Mendoza, Sheriff County, Santa Fe Sheriff County, said at a press conference on Friday that February 17th showed the last daymaker in the Hackman activity and a very good assumption that it was his last day of life.
The first autopsy results excluded carbon monoxide poisoning and found no signs of blunt trauma on the couple's bodies, he said.
The medical examiner decides on the official cause of death after receiving complete toxicological and autopsy results – a process that Mendoza said could take months.
The investigators look at pills that were found at the crime scene and the couple's cell phones to put together the last days of their lives.
“We will analyze cell phone data, telephone calls, text messages, events and photos in the cell phone to put together a timeline,” said Mendoza.
The investigators removed two phones, blood pressure and thyroid medication, Tylenol, medical records and a monthly planner from 2025 from home.
Mendoza said that in addition to Arakawa's body on the bathroom floor, space heating is not of central importance for the examination, since the couple has been negatively tested for carbon monoxide poisoning.
“At the moment there is no indication that (the room heating) has something to do with it,” he said.
The 95 -year -old Hackman and the 65 -year -old Arakawa were found on Wednesday shortly before 2 p.m. by two maintenance workers in their shared apartment.
The workers then notified a caretaker of the community who went into the house and then called in 911.
The caretaker did not have all the information when he called, but knew that he looked through a window on two corpses that were on the floor inside.
The caller can be heard on the audio, which tells the dispatcher that he can see what seems to be two motionless corpses in the house. Silked, he repeatedly “damn” and asks the authorities to answer quickly.
“No, they don't move. Please send someone out of here quickly, ”says the caller.
The actor Gene Hackman and Ms. Betsy Arakawa, a classic pianist, arrive in Beverly Hills in 2003.
(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
Hackman's body was found on the floor near the kitchen near a hiking pipe and sunglasses nearby. Arakawa's body was found in a bathroom at the main entrance of the house, and the prescription pills were scattered on a nearby worktop. Mendoza said that due to the law on the portability and accountability obligation of the health insurance and the obligation to account, he could not publish any details of the regulations.
The positioning of the couple's bodies showed that they suddenly fallen after the affidavit.
A German shepherd was found dead in the house, while two other dogs were alive on the property and were able to enter the residence through a door on the back. The dog's cause of death is unknown.
According to an affidavit, the fire brigade of Santa Fe City did not find any signs of carbon monoxide leak or poisoning.
“We try to find out all evidence, and the autopsy is the key, and that will take some time, said Mendoza of the news program” Today “.” A bit of patience to the family, so we can have some answers to these deaths. ”
At a press conference, Mendoza did not give a schedule for the results, but found that the medical examiner accelerated several tests.
In the coming days, the investigators will create a timeline when the couple was last seen alive and tried to evaluate who recently spoken to them. Mendoza described Hackman and Arakawa as “private individuals” who were thought to be. There are no surveillance cameras inside or outside the house that investigators can fall back on, said Mendoza on Friday.
The maintenance workers who discovered their bodies said they had recently communicated with the couple for about two weeks and mainly talked to Arakawa about text messages or calls.
At a press conference on Friday afternoon, the film commissioner Jennifer Labar-Tapia from Santa Fe Hackman and Arakawa thanked for their “friendliness, generosity and love” for the city and its contributions to the film industry.
“Gene was not only a legendary actor whose talent shaped generations of storytelling, but he and Betsy were also long -time residents of our community who were deeply interwoven into the Santa Fe fabric,” she said. “Genes legacy in the film is unprecedented and extends over decades of unforgettable performances, including some that are shot here in Santa Fe.”