An examination of the actor Gene Hackman’s pacemaker after the discovery of his body this week suggested that he died on Feb. 17, the sheriff of Santa Fe County said in a news conference on Friday.
Sheriff Adan Mendoza said that after Mr. Hackman, 95, and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, 65, were found dead in separate rooms of their New Mexico home, Mr. Hackman’s pacemaker was inspected and it showed that the “last event” occurred on that date, nine days before their bodies were discovered.
“According to the pathologist, I think that is a very good assumption that that was his last day of life,” the sheriff said. He added that both bodies tested negative for carbon monoxide.
Investigators combing through the secluded home outside of Santa Fe, N.M., discovered common medication, medical records and a 2025 planner, according to a search warrant return released on Friday.
The return, an inventory of items taken during a search of the home, specified that police officers had recovered thyroid medication, Tylenol and diltiazem, a drug often used to treat high blood pressure or chest pain.
It was not clear whether the medications listed were the pills that investigators had described as being scattered near Ms. Arakawa’s body. The sheriff did not give any more details of what was in the monthly planner.
Officers also found records from MyQuest, an online medical portal where patients can review test results and make doctor’s appointments. Officers also recovered two green cellphones.
It could be months before clearer answers emerge about how the couple died. The unusual circumstances of their deaths have rocked Hollywood, as well as the cultural hub of Santa Fe and film lovers across the globe.
Sheriff Mendoza said at the news conference that it could take three months or longer to get toxicology results that could clarify the cause of their deaths.
Mr. Hackman’s body was found on Wednesday in the mud room of his home, and the body of Ms. Arakawa was found in a bathroom near an open prescription bottle and scattered pills. One of the couple’s dogs, a German shepherd, was found dead in a nearby closet. Two other dogs were found alive on the property.
Sheriff Mendoza previously said that Mr. Hackman and Ms. Arakawa had been dead for “several days, possibly even up to a couple weeks,” based on the condition of their bodies.
The drugs that were found at the house are used to treat common ailments. Diltiazem is a calcium channel blocker, which lowers blood pressure and can help with abnormal heart rhythms. Thyroid medicine is used to treat low levels of thyroid hormone, a condition that can result in exhaustion, weight gain and depression, among other symptoms.
Dr. Garret FitzGerald, the director of the Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics at the University of Pennsylvania, said all of these drugs had the potential to be fatal in large doses.
In very high doses, Tylenol can cause liver failure, thyroid pills can cause arrhythmia, and calcium channel blockers can cause cardiogenic shock. But, Dr. FitzGerald added, “all of these would be very rare causes of death and would require very high doses and likely some prior susceptibility of the individual.”
On Friday, a small group of reporters gathered outside the neighborhood where the couple had been living. Their gated community, Santa Fe Summit, is just beyond the city limits. A security guard was sitting at the entrance, which lies along a winding road with views of the mountains.
A law enforcement affidavit released on Thursday said that after the bodies were discovered, testing by the local Fire Department had determined that there were no signs of a possible carbon monoxide or gas leak.
Chief Brian Moya of the Santa Fe Fire Department said in an interview that a door in the back of the home had been cracked open, possibly to let the dogs go in and out.
He said that his department, which includes emergency medical services, had not responded to the couple’s property for at least three years, since he took over as chief. He added that he was not aware of any calls for help before that, either.
“They were very private people,” Chief Moya said.
Once active members of the Santa Fe community, Mr. Hackman and Ms. Arakawa had grown more reclusive in recent years, friends said.
“We’ll be analyzing cellphone data — phone calls, text messages, events, photos in the cellphone — to try to piece a timeline together,” Sheriff Mendoza said at the news conference on Friday.
One of Mr. Hackman’s daughters from his first marriage, Leslie Ann Hackman, said in an interview with The Daily Mail that she hadn’t spoken to her father in several months. She described him as being in “good health” for 95, noting that he still did Pilates and yoga.
On Jan. 31, a day after Mr. Hackman’s birthday, Ms. Arakawa emailed a friend, Lesley Allin, to thank her and her husband for their birthday wishes and for the desserts they had sent to the New Mexico home.
“Time just flies,” Ms. Arakawa wrote in the email, “so we all have to have fun while we can.”
The post Gene Hackman Likely Died on Feb. 17, Sheriff Says appeared first on New York Times.
