Santa Fe, NM – The authorities investigating the death of Gene Hackman, winner of an Oscar, and his wife, said on Friday that they had found the two negatives tested for carbon monoxide, but the cause of death was still unknown.
What you need to know
- Authorities investigating the death of Gene Hackman, winner of an Oscar, and his wife said she found the two negatives tested for carbon carbon monoxide
- The sheriff of the County of Santa Fe, Adan Mendoza, told NBC’s “Today” on Friday that the two were apparently died for days or maybe even a few weeks
- Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found on Wednesday at the couple’s home in Santa Fe, New Mexico,
- Investigators try to understand the last time someone saw or told them
The sheriff of the County of Santa Fe, Aden Mendoza, said that he had spoken with the pathologist of the office of the New Mexico of the medical investigator, who said that Hackman and Arakawa had tested negative for carbon monoxide.
The two had apparently died for days or even a few weeks when the investigators found their bodies by searching the home of the couple Santa Fe on Wednesday. Investigators are trying to understand the last time someone has seen or spoke to them, Mendoza told NBC “Today” on Friday.
“This is a challenge because they were individuals,” said sheriff, noting that the results of autopsy and toxicology tests could take months.
Hackman, 95, was found on Wednesday in an entrance to the house and Arakawa, 65, was found lying on the side in the bathroom. A dead German shepherd was found in a kennel near Arakawa, Mendoza announced on Thursday.
There was an open prescription bottle and pills on a counter near Arakawa, according to the search warrant. According to the judicial files submitted on Friday, the authorities who searched the house recovered drugs that treat high blood pressure and chest pain, thyroid drugs, tylenol, two mobile phones, a monthly planner and medical diagnostic testing files.
There was no indication of a unfair game, according to the sheriff’s office. The detectives wrote in an affidavit of search mandate that the investigators thought that deaths were “sufficiently suspected by nature to require in -depth research and investigation”.
No gas leaks were discovered in and around the house, but a detective noted in the affidavit that people exposed to gas leaks or carbon monoxide may not show signs of poisoning.
A radiator was next to Arakawa and may have fallen when she fell suddenly on the ground, according to the Affidavit. The Sheriff’s office has planned a press conference on Friday afternoon to provide updates.
A maintenance worker who arose to carry out routine work in the Chamber discovered his body, the investigators said. The worker said that he was unable to enter inside when an operator in the 911 asked if the inhabitants of the house were breathing.
“I have no idea,” said the caretaker on the call. “I am not inside the house. It’s closed. It is locked. I can’t enter. But I can see that it is lying on the window of the window.
He and another worker later declared to the authorities that they had rarely seen the owners and that their last contact with them had been about two weeks ago.
Mendoza said “today” that there were several contradictory stories on which the doors were locked at home. Several were unlocked and that a rear door was open, which allowed two dogs that survived to enter and go out. He also said he thought the front door was closed but unlocked.
Hackman was among the most accomplished actors of his generation, appearing as bad guys, heroes and anti-heroes in dozens of dramas, comedies and action films from the 1960s until his retirement in the early 2000s.
He was a quintuple nominated from the Oscars who won the best actor in a leading role for “The French Connection” in 1972 and the best actor in a support role for “Unforgiven” two decades later. He also won praise for his role as a coach finding a takeover in the sentimental favorite “Hoosiers”.
He met Arakawa, a pianist by classic training, in a California gymnasium in the mid -80s. They moved to Santa Fe at the end of the decade. Their Pueblo renewal house is located on a hill in a closed community with a view of rocky mountains.
During his first two decades in New Mexico, Hackman was often seen in the state capital and sat on the board of directors of the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum from 1997 to 2004.
In recent years, it has been much less visible. Aside from appearances during the awards salons, he was rarely seen in the Hollywood social circuit and retired to act approximately 20 years ago.
Hackman had three children from a previous wedding. He and Arakawa had no children but were known to have German shepherds.