Feb. 28 (UPI) — Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, tested negative for carbon monoxide poisoning, the Santa Fe Sheriffs Department in New Mexico said Friday, one day after they were found dead with their dog.
Though the results were negative, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said during a news conference that a pathologist will decide whether to rule out the poisonous gas as the cause of death.
Mwendoza told reporters the “manner and cause of death have not been determined” but autopsy findings noted no external trauma. A toxicology report may take up to three months though initial autopsy findings noted no external trauma.
“We’re keeping everything on the table,” Mendoza said.
Also, he said it was likely neither Hackman, 95, nor Arakawa, 65, had a fatal fall.
They haven’t determined who died first, Mendoza said.
Hackman likely died more than a week earlier — on Feb. 17, which is the last day his pacemaker recorded an “event,” Mendoza said at the news conference.
“I think that is a very good assumption, that that was his last day of life.”
Although officials originally said there was no foul play, investigators have called the deaths “suspicious.”
“There was no indication of a struggle,” Mendoza told reporters. “There was no indication of anything that was missing from the home or disturbed, you know, that would be indication that there was a crime that had occurred, there was no indication of that.”
They found no obvious signs of a gas leak, no signs of foul play and nothing out of place at the home.
Mendoza said several doors were unlocked.
Two other dogs were found alive on the property.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office went to the home after a maintenance worker arrived but no one answered the door. Neighborhood security saw the couple on the ground and unresponsive through a window, officials said.
Hackman was found dead in a mudroom near the kitchen, according to the warrant.
Arakawa was located 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.
Thyroid medication, Diltiazem blood pressure medication and Tylenol were taken from the estate.
In the search documents obtained by Fox News Digital, investigators listed two cellphones, MyQuest records, a 2025 planner.
The German shepherd was found dead a few feet away in a closet in the bathroom.
A responding deputy 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 suspected Hackman may have suddenly fallen as he observed him with a walking cane and a pair of sunglasses near his body.
Hackman retired from acting after performing in Welcome to Mooseport in 2004. The Oscar-winning actor was known for starring in the films The French Connection, The Conversation, Unforgiven and Hoosiers.
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