Carbon monoxide has been ruled out as a cause of death for Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, at their Santa Fe home, as preliminary autopsy results fail to provide definitive answers.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said in a press conference Friday that while carbon monoxide poisoning has been ruled out, the exact cause of the couple’s death remains unknown.
“The initial examination by the medical examiner showed no sign of carbon monoxide,” Mendoza said of the odorless gas often produced by kitchen appliances and other fuel-burning items. When it collects in poorly ventilated homes, it can be fatal.
No gas leaks were discovered in or around the home.
Mendoza noted that there were no signs of foul play at the scene.
The bodies of Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 65, were found on Wednesday, but investigators suspect the deaths happened days earlier.
Mendoza also said that a closer look at Hackman’s pacemaker showed it stopped functioning on Feb. 17, suggesting the actor may have died nine days before the bodies were found.
Medical professionals, however, have cautioned against drawing definitive conclusions from this information alone.
“If your heart required a pacemaker, there would certainly be an interruption at that point—and it might be the hallmark of when the death occurred,” said Dr. Philip Keen, retired chief medical examiner from Maricopa County, Arizona. “But it’s not necessarily because some people get a pacemaker to augment things, not necessarily replace things.”
Toxicology Results
Authorities are awaiting toxicology results to see if any medications or other substances played a role in the deaths, with test results expected to take several weeks to complete.Mendoza said the couple’s reputation for privacy has complicated the investigation.
Detectives have since begun examining the couple’s phones and monthly planners, as well as contacting family members, neighbors, and community workers to establish when Hackman and Arakawa were last seen or contacted.
Court records filed Friday show that investigators retrieved various medications from the home, including treatments for high blood pressure, chest pain, and thyroid issues, in addition to over-the-counter pain relievers and medical records.
The bodies were discovered after a maintenance worker was unable to enter the locked house during a routine visit, so security was alerted. A security worker then saw the bodies of two people on the ground through a window, and a call was made to 911.
Hackman, a celebrated actor with a decades-long career, had retired from the film industry in the early 2000s. He and Arakawa, a classically trained pianist, lived in their Pueblo revival home in a gated community overlooking the Rocky Mountain foothills since the late 1980s.
Known for his versatility, Hackman earned five Oscar nominations throughout his career, winning Best Actor for “The French Connection” in 1972 and Best Supporting Actor for “Unforgiven” in 1992. He was also praised for his role as a coach seeking redemption in the sports drama “Hoosiers.”
Hackman served on the board of trustees for the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum from 1997 to 2004 but eventually withdrew from public life.
