Gene Hackman, wife tested negative for carbon monoxide, sheriff says
SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – Actor Gene Hackman, his wife Betsy Arakawa, and their dog were found dead in their Santa Fe home, in a scene that one detective had deemed "suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation."
Sheriff Adan Mendoza of the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office said that the couple had been dead for “quite a while” and he would leave it to the Office of the Medical Investigator to determine the exact length of time.
In a press conference on Friday, Mendoza said the investigation into their deaths was still underway, but both Hackman and Arakawa had tested negative for carbon monoxide.
The New Mexico Gas Co. also tested the gas lines in and around the home after the bodies were discovered and didn't find any signs of problems, according to the warrant. The Fire Department also found no signs of a carbon monoxide leak or poisoning.
"It's not normal to find two people deceased in a residence," Mendoza told reporters at a prior news conference for a different matter Thursday. "That's concerning."
Sante Fe County deputies were called out to the home on Old Sunset Trail in Hyde Park Wednesday around 1:45 p.m. Two maintenance workers reported that they found the front door of the home open and two people dead inside, according to the search warrant affidavit.
Hackman, 95, was found on the floor of the home's mud room, and Arakawa, 63, was found on the bathroom floor, according to a search warrant affidavit from the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office. The detective who gave the affidavit noted that both Hackman and Arakawa showed signs that indicated they could have both abruptly fallen where they laid, citing the position of Hackman's glasses on the floor, and a space heater near Arakawa.
Deputies also found an open prescription pill bottle with pills scattered on a countertop near Arakawa. The sheriff declined to release details on the pills found, citing health privacy concerns.
A German shepherd dog was found dead about 10-to-15 feet from Arakawa in a closet of the bathroom. Deputies found two other dogs alive on the property.
“There was no obvious sign of or indication of foul play," Sheriff Mendoza said, before adding that no cause has been ruled out.
After the news conference, the sheriff’s office sent a news release that stated, “An autopsy was performed. Initial findings noted no external trauma to either individual.”
The sheriff’s office also wrote that toxicology tests were requested for Hackman and Arakawa. Those results were pending, as was a full autopsy report. Mendoza didn't give a precise timeline for when the full report would be released, but said it could take "months."
Sheriff Mendoza also revealed a few details surrounding the discovery of the bodies.
“From what I understand, there was a gentleman that was doing some pest control work that had gone to the Hackman residence, and he noticed that they weren’t home which was odd, I guess in as far he was concerned. He made contact with the security officer that was there, either patrolling or in the subdivision, and then it was the security officer that went to the house and had discovered the individuals in the home,” Mendoza said.
The security officer looked through a window of the house and saw Hackman and Arakawa on the ground and called 911, Mendoza said. The 911 call audio was obtained by Nexstar's KRQE.
“I think we’ve just found two or one deceased person inside a house,” said the 911 caller.
“I’m not inside the house, it’s closed, it’s locked, I can’t go in. But I see she’s laying down on the floor from the window,” the caller later explained.
According to the search warrant, the two maintenance workers who were at the home told deputies that they last spoke to the homeowners two weeks ago, saying that they mainly communicated with Arakawa via text and phone calls.