The deaths of actor Gene Hackman, 95, and his wife Betsy Arakawa, 63, have been deemed “suspicious,” according to a search warrant affidavit.
The couple was discovered dead on Wednesday afternoon at their Santa Fe, New Mexico, residence by two maintenance workers. The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office said that foul play was “not currently suspected.” Detective Roy Arndt told a judge in a search warrant application that the circumstances of the deaths are “suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation.”
The local fire department and gas company checked for a gas leak and found none.
According to a report by Variety, Arakawa was lying on the bathroom floor. An opened prescription pill bottle was found on the countertop, with pills scattered nearby. A space heater was found near the woman’s head, and the report noted that “the heater could have fallen in the event the female abruptly fell to the ground.”
Hackman was discovered in a mudroom with sunglasses nearby.
Arakawa’s body was discovered in the house with the door open, showing no signs of forced entry. A deceased dog was found in the bathroom closet, and two other dogs were found alive on the property – one near Arakawa’s body and the other roaming freely outside.
The time of death for Arakawa and Hackman is also unclear. Per the search warrant, Arakawa’s body “showed obvious signs of death, body decomposition, bloating in her face and mummification in both hands and feet.” Hackman’s body was “similar and consistent with the female decedent.”
Autopsies were conducted on Thursday morning, but the medical examiner did not publicly announce the cause of death for either party. A statement from the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office noted that there were no signs of trauma on either body, and said toxicology and carbon monoxide tests had been ordered.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza told “Today” that the pills discovered near Arakawa’s body could help solve the mystery of their deaths.
“That’s obviously very important evidence at the scene,” he said. “So yes, we’re looking at that specifically and other medications that were possibly in the residence. That is something of concern.”
The sheriff also noted that toxicology reports can take up to three months or longer, adding, “I’m pretty confident there is no foul play just based on the lack of evidence of foul play, but we of course are not ruling that out.”
