It will probably take weeks to resolve the death of actor Gene Hackman and his wife, since the authorities revealed new details about the case.
The Oscar winner and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found dead with one of the three dogs of the family at their home in New Mexico for maintenance workers on Wednesday. The authorities said there were no obvious signs of dirty play, but that the circumstances of their deaths justified greater investigation.
Where does the investigation go here?
In addition to the work of the coroner, the researchers are looking at the pills that are on the scene and cell phones of the couple to rebuild the last days of their lives.
“We will analyze cell phone data, phone calls, text messages, events, photos on the cell phone, to try to gather a timeline,” said Friday of the Sheriff's County of the Sheriff of Santa Fe.
The researchers eliminated two phones, blood pressure and thyroid medications, tylenol, medical records and a 2025 monthly planner from home, according to a summary of the search warrant.
In the next few days, researchers will build a timeline for when the two were last seen and try to evaluate who spoke with them for the last time. Mendoza described Hackman and Arakawa as “individuals” who kept themselves. There are no security cameras inside or outside the house for researchers to turn to, Mendoza said on Friday.
The maintenance workers told the researchers who spent for the last time with the couple about two weeks before their bodies were found. Arakawa communicated mainly with workers through text messages or phone calls.
Gene Hackman appears on a screen during the Domingo Academy Awards ceremony.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
How did the couple find?
Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 65, were found by a couple of maintenance workers in their housing community shortly before 2 pm on Wednesday.
Then, the workers notified a community caregiver, who went to the house and then called 911.
The caregiver did not have all the information when he called, but he knew he was looking through a window to two bodies that were in the inside.
You can listen to the person who calls in audio telling the dispatcher who can see what seems to be two motionless bodies inside the house. Shake, he repeatedly says “curse” and urges the authorities to respond quickly.
“No, they are not moving. Please send someone here quickly, ”says the person who calls.
Hackman's body was found on the floor near the kitchen with a cane and a pair of sunglasses nearby, according to an affidavit of the court. Arakawa's body was found in a bathroom for the main entrance of the house, and the prescription pills were scattered in a nearby countertop. Mendoza said he could not disseminate details about the recipes due to the Portability and Responsibility Law of Health Insurance.
The positioning of the couple's bodies indicated that they may have suddenly fallen, according to the affidavit.
A German shepherd was found dead inside the house, while two other dogs were alive in the property and could enter the residence through a door on the back. The cause of death of the dog is unknown.
How did they die?
The cause of death is still under investigation.
The initial autopsy results ruled out carbon monoxide poisoning and did not find signs of forceful force in the couple's bodies, he said.
The coroner will make a decision about the official cause of death after receiving full toxicology and autopsy results, a process that Mendoza said it could take months. Mendoza said at a press conference on Friday that on February 17 it was the last day that Hackman's pacemaker showed activity and that it is “a very good assumption that it was his last day of life.”
