'No significant findings' of carbon monoxide or gas leak in Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa's home
The deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife remain a mystery as authorities confirm there were "no significant findings" of carbon monoxide or gas leaks at their New Mexico home.
The New Mexico Gas Co. conducted an investigation after the Oscar-winning actor; his wife, Betsy Arakawa; and their dog were found dead last week.
Authorities found Hackman, 95, in a mudroom near the kitchen of his Santa Fe home, according to a search warrant. Arakawa, 65, was on the floor of a bathroom, and a German shepherd was discovered about 10 feet from her in a closet in the bathroom.
Two other dogs were found alive on the property.
On Tuesday, the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office released a brief update on the investigation, saying it had received the gas company's findings.
"Those results are not believed to be a factor in the deaths of Gene Hackman, Betsy Arakawa or their dog though the information was relayed to the Office of the Medical Investigator for consideration," the sheriff's office said.
The sheriff's office added that the gas company issued five red tags: one for a minuscule, nonlethal leak at one of the stove burners and four for code enforcement violations not involving leaks or carbon monoxide. The violations involved a water heater and gas log lighters installed in three fireplaces, the sheriff's office said.
The gas company did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Authorities have said the deaths are "suspicious," but Santa Fe Sheriff Adan Mendoza has said he's "confident there's no foul play" involved. The sheriff's office previously said that the medical examiner's preliminary findings found no signs of external trauma.
Hackman and his wife may have been dead for several days or possibly weeks before they were found, Mendoza said. The search warrant stated that both bodies showed "obvious signs of death." When Arakawa was found, there was a space heater near her head and a prescription bottle with pills scattered across the counter, the warrant said.
The sheriff said the information about the pills had been passed onto the medical investigator to help determine a cause of death.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
2 days ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Sold-out musical about Luigi Mangione adds new S.F. date
San Francisco's sold-out musical about Luigi Mangione has extended its run due to popular demand. ' Luigi: The Musical,' inspired by the social media frenzy surrounding the 27-year-old suspect in the murder case of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, has added a July 13 performance at the Independent. The music venue on Divisadaro Street has a capacity of 500, roughly five times that of the Taylor Street Theater, where the show premieres Friday, June 13. All five of the production's originally announced June performances at the Taylor Street Theater, the former Exit on Taylor in the Tenderloin, sold out more than a month ago. 'Luigi: The Musical' was developed by Nova Bradford, Arielle Johnson, André Margatini and Caleb Zeringue, and is staged in the style of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical 'Chicago.' The satirical show is set at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center and features Mangione alongside a fictional group of prison mates including Sean 'Diddy' Combs, whose sex trafficking and racketeering trial began last month, and fallen FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. 'Luigi the character, as we've written him, is dead serious about his thoughts and goals,' Johnson previously told the Chronicle. 'There's something campy about the whole 'good guy with a gun' premise.' As Johnson and his colleagues prepared for the stage production's June 13 premiere, the real Mangione pleaded not guilty to four federal charges against him for the murder of Thompson in December. He is next set to appear in court June 26. During the appearance, a trial date may be set. Mangione spent his 27th birthday last month at the Metropolitan Detention Center, where he has been held without bail since Dec. 19. To mark the occasion, he sent a list of 27 things he's grateful for to various people who have been writing him letters while he has been locked up. The list has since gone viral on social media and features entries such as 'memes' and 'Latinas for Mangione,' both nods to the internet discourse around his arrest. Mangione also revealed that around 30,000 people donated more than $1 million to his legal fund, and expressed gratitude for the various books and letters that he has received.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Pro-Trump Christian artist issues ‘Confession' after several men accuse him of sexual assault
In a statement released to social media, Grammy Award-winning singer Michael Tait admits to abusing drugs and touching men without their consent. Grammy-winning contemporary Christian recording artist Michael Tait is coming clean after being accused of sexually assaulting several men, including young, male musicians. Tait, a former member of the Christian music groups DC Talk and Newsboys, released 'My Confession' in a statement posted to social media. 'Recent reports of my reckless and destructive behavior, including drug and alcohol abuse and sexual activity, are sadly, largely true,' said Tait, who has supported both presidential campaigns of President Donald Trump. 'I am ashamed of my life choices and actions. I will simply call it what God calls it–sin.' Tait, a 59-year-old native of Washington, D.C., is wildly successful in the Christian music industry, having sold 18 million albums and won four Grammy Awards. Much of his music has encouraged young Christian listeners to resist liberalism and live a life of sobriety, abstinence, and heterosexuality, reports The Guardian, which published an in-depth investigation of his alleged sexual misconduct and drug abuse. Tait's music was also part of the soundtrack to Trump's right-wing Make America Great Again, or MAGA, political movement. His song with Newsboys, 'God's Not Dead,' became a MAGA fixture. The 2011 song's popularity emerged during the conservative evangelical resistance to Barack Obama's presidency. Tait is credited with helping to connect Trump to white evangelical voters, who played a significant role in his 2016 election. During the 2016 election cycle, Tait, invited by Trump's friend Pastor Paula White, was among a group of Christians who prayed over Trump before a Florida campaign stop. Newsboys also notably performed for Trump at the White House in 2019. 'I love you, I support you, and I'm one of the growing number of African Americans who love you,' Tait once told Trump during a 2019 video expressing his support for Trump's prison reform policies. According to The Guardian, Tait is accused of engaging in a pattern of manipulative and abusive behavior with young male musicians in the early 2000s. Some of the alleged victims claim Tait offered the 'possibility of career or artistic opportunities.' When some men rebuffed him, Tait allegedly cut off all contact with them. The singer is accused of hosting parties at his home in Nashville, where he would encourage the men to drink alcohol and use drugs before he allegedly made sexual advances. At least two men said they were secretly drugged and were left in and out of consciousness, and were unable to consent to sexual acts. The alleged male victims claim Tait touched them without their permission. In his 'Confession,' Tait admits to once drinking 'far too much alcohol' and touching men in 'an unwanted sensual way.' He revealed that in early January, he spent six weeks in a Utah treatment center for his cocaine abuse and has been sober for six months. The Christian artist said he was 'ashamed' for living a double life and lying to his family, friends and fans. 'I have hurt so many people in so many ways, and I will live with that shameful reality for the rest of my life,' he wrote. 'I accept the consequences of my sin and am committed to continuing the hard work of repentance and healing work.' More must-reads: Owner of Dominican club whose roof collapsed and killed 236 is arrested along with his sister Israeli strikes on Iran lead to new test of Trump's ability to deliver on 'America first' agenda As legal fight over Guard deployment plays out, Noem vows to continue Trump's immigration crackdown
USA Today
2 days ago
- USA Today
Sean 'Diddy' Combs accuser reveals her identity in lawsuit alleging 4-year 'pattern of abuse'
Sean 'Diddy' Combs accuser reveals her identity in lawsuit alleging 4-year 'pattern of abuse' Show Caption Hide Caption Witness details rocky relationship with Sean 'Diddy' Combs A witness using the name Jane said Sean Combs dismissed her when she refused sex with other men, and threatened to stop paying her rent. More than eight months after accusing Sean "Diddy" Combs of sexually abusing and manipulating her over a four-year period in a 2024 lawsuit, a woman has come forward to identify herself. Chelsea Lovelace, described as a Florida business owner, entrepreneur, and model, on June 13 filed an amended complaint in the New York Supreme Court using her own name as plaintiff, replacing the anonymous name Jane Doe she'd used in her Sept. 27 filing. She alleges that between 2021 and 2024, Combs pressured her to regularly travel to meet him, ingest "illicit substances," have sex with other men and women and otherwise do his bidding by leveraging the allowance he was paying her. The claims and timeline mirror testimony Combs' former partner gave on the stand in his criminal trial. Lovelace's filing comes after Combs' legal team sought the court to issue a ruling that would compel her to use her legal name, Lovelace's attorney, Joseph L. Ciaccio, said in a statement to USA TODAY. "Before the Court made any decision on that, my client decided herself to come forward publicly on her own terms," Ciaccio said. In response to Lovelace's amended complaint, Combs' team told USA TODAY in a statement reiterating, "Mr. Combs has full confidence in the facts and the integrity of the judicial process. In court, the truth will prevail: That Mr. Combs never sexually assaulted or trafficked anyone - man or woman, adult or minor." Combs is on trial for charges of sex trafficking, transportation to engage in prostitution and racketeering and has pleaded not guilty to all charges. The Grammy-winning rapper and producer has faced a barrage of civil lawsuits – many of them from unnamed accusers – since November 2023, alleging sexual assault, abuse and trafficking dating back to the 1990s. Combs denies all misconduct claims. Diddy on trial newsletter: Step inside the courtroom with our daily updates. Chelsea Lovelace says alleged relationship with Diddy 'turned into manipulation, control and abuse' He also shared a statement from Lovelace, who said of her alleged relationship with Combs, "There was a time I truly believed we shared something real. In my heart, for a time, I believed he genuinely cared about me. That we both cared for one another in a way that meant something. "But over time, that illusion shattered. And with it, so did parts of me," Lovelace continued. "What I once thought was love and loyalty, quickly turned into manipulation, control and abuse. I was not seen as a person with a soul, but as a pawn in a much larger game. I didn't want to believe it. I wrestled with God, with my heart, with my own silence." 'Coercive control' and Diddy: You won't hear about this during the trial — here's why it's still important. She clarified the lawsuit was "not an act of revenge," but rather "an act of release. Of standing in my truth. Of choosing healing over hiding." Lovelace added that eventually, "silence became too heavy to bear." Lovelace concluded by saying she believes "that light exposes what needs to be healed. And I believe that the truth, even when it hurts, is the beginning of freedom." She also noted, "Today, I choose to walk forward with my head held high and my voice intact." Chelsea Lovelace's lawsuit mirrors testimony from Diddy's ex, 'Jane' Lovelace sued Combs for sexual assault, sexual battery and infliction of emotional distress. She alleges she'd first met him on Nov. 5, 2020, on a three-day trip to Turks and Caicos for which he'd paid. (Lovelace's initial complaint did not specify this "overseas location.") She says he flew her back to his Miami estate via a private plane on Nov. 7, 2020, and sent her home Nov. 9. They started "seeing each other regularly" in early 2021, Lovelace alleges. However, she claims her monthly trips with Combs, or to meet him, were "not of her own volition." Combs and his accomplices "would use coercive and harassing language to compel her to comply," Lovelace's lawsuit states. She went on to detail several alleged incidents, including forced and coerced sex with Combs as well as other people, blacking out from "alcohol and substances" various times and the realization that he was tracking her phone. Lovelace also described Combs allegedly discouraging her from working and paying her an allowance that he would use as leverage "to control her." Diddy trial recap: Diddy's ex, Jane, says she felt obligated to have sex with male escorts for him The amended complaint includes details that have emerged throughout Combs' trial, which wrapped its sixth week in Manhattan federal court on June 13. Though Lovelace's September complaint included allegations about "City Girls" rapper Yung Miami, whose legal name is Caresha Brownlee, the new filing does not make mention of the musician, who is Combs' ex-girlfriend. Lovelace's claims are reminiscent of testimony given by one of Combs' other ex-partners, who used the pseudonym Jane in federal court and alleged Combs took her on multiple trips to the islands and pressured her to do so-called "hotel nights" with sex workers. Jane also told jurors Combs allegedly paid her $10,000 per month rent but regularly threatened to revoke it if she didn't do his bidding. They dated between 2021 and 2024, Jane said, at one point noting on the stand that while she was monogamous, Combs was not. If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, RAINN's National Sexual Assault Hotline offers free, confidential, 24/7 support in English and Spanish via chat and at 800-656-4673.
