Actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa—who were found mysteriously dead in their Santa Fe home on Wednesday—both tested negative for carbon monoxide in initial, expedited tests, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said in a press conference Friday afternoon.
Actor Gene Hackman arrives with his wife, Betsy Arakawa, for the 60th Annual Golden Globe Awards in ... [+]
Mendoza said he spoke with a pathologist from the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator around 2 p.m. local time Friday and she told him the pair tested negative for carbon monoxide.
Speculation about whether carbon monoxide played a role in Hackman's death was sparked after the actor's daughter, Elizabeth Jean Hackman, Hackman’s daughter, told TMZ she thinks they likely died from carbon monoxide poisoning—though there were no signs of leaks.
The pathologist also told Mendoza an initial investigation of Hackman’s pacemaker showed “his last event was recorded on Feb. 17,” which Mendoza said led to “a very good assumption that that was his last day of life.”
A more thorough investigation will be completed, but Mendoza said the carbon monoxide results and pacemaker information came from expedited tests that officials felt were important to share with the public.
Officials said Thursday that initial findings indicated there was “no external trauma to either individual,” and police later reported Arakawa had mummification in her hands and feet, and Hackman had “similar” signs, indicating they had been dead for some time, The Washington Post reported.
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Hackman, 95, and his wife, 65, were found dead in their New Mexico home on Wednesday. Police found them when conducting a welfare check, and found Hackman in the mud room and Arakawa on her side in the bathroom, with unspecified pills scattered near her. One dog was found dead in the home, and two were found alive on the property. Officials quickly said there was no “immediate sign of foul play,” but reportedly said in a warrant later on Thursday the deaths were “suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation” because of “circumstances surrounding” the scene.
A search warrant return said police officers recovered thyroid medicine, Tylenol and diltiazem, which can be used to treat high blood pressure, in the home, but it wasn’t clear if they were the pills near Arakawa, The New York Times reported. Officers also allegedly found two cell phones, a monthly planner for 2025 and records from a medical portal.
Actor Gene Hackman And His Wife Found Dead With Pills Scattered Nearby, Police Say (Forbes)