What We Still Don't Know About Gene Hackman's Death
American actor Gene Hackman in London, Sept. 7, 1973. Credit - Evening Standard—Getty Images
It's been one week since Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found dead at their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and the investigation is still ongoing as facts and questions continue to pour in.
The Oscar-winning actor, 95, was reportedly found in a mudroom near his cane, while his wife, 65, was in an open bathroom near a space heater. The pair was discovered by a maintenance worker when he arrived to do routine work on the house.
'There were no apparent signs of foul play,' Sherif Adan Mendoza said in a press conference on Feb. 28, though Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office detectives wrote in a search warrant affidavit investigators thought the deaths were 'suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation.'
Read More: The Miracle of Gene Hackman
Hackman's pacemaker showed that his last event was recorded on Feb. 17, indicating this is likely when the actor died, according to Mendoza.
On Wednesday, it was revealed that authorities had initially misidentified the deceased dog that was found dead in Hackman's home, which was first reported by USA Today. The authorities had stated that a German Shepherd was found deceased—Hackman's dog Bear—but Bear has survived, along with a second dog named Nikita. The couples' kelpie mix, Zinna, is the dog that was reportedly found dead.
This news brings to the forefront that despite a few certainties in the ongoing investigation, many facts about their deaths remain a mystery.
Here's what we still do not know about Hackman and Arakawa's deaths.
Autopsy findings showed that there was no 'external trauma' to either individual, Mendoza said in the press conference, but the manner of death has not been determined.
Both individuals tested negative for carbon monoxide, Mendoza confirmed. On March 4, the Sheriff's office posted on their official Facebook page that though the New Mexico Gas Company had found five issues—including a 'miniscule leak' in Hackman's home— 'those results are not believed to be a factor in the deaths…though the information was relayed to the Office of the Medical Investigator for consideration.'
Mendoza had said in a press conference with reporters on Friday that there were no 'obvious' or 'immediate' signs of foul play related to the deaths of Hackman and Arakawa.
Yet, Mendoza said that officials are not ruling out foul play, and in the ongoing investigation, they are 'keeping everything on the table.'
Found on the scene was an open prescription pill bottle, and pills strewn on the ground near Arakawa's body.
The Sheriff's office has yet to release what prescription these pills were, who they were prescribed to, and whether the pills are related to the deaths.
The pills, though, are 'important evidence,' Mendoza said in the press conference on Friday, though he is deferring to pathologists to determine whether they are related to their deaths.
Mendoza said that two cell phones were found on the scene by authorities, and that the Sheriff's Office is working to analyze texts, phone calls, and photos to piece together what could have occurred.
Since there is no surveillance or security video inside or outside the home, according to Mendoza, this evidence may help piece together a timeline.
Contact us at letters@time.com.
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