ALBAWABA - Actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa's partially mummified bodies were found at their New Mexico home last month, and authorities are preparing to provide more details about their investigation.
Tests for carbon monoxide poisoning came back negative, and the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office has stated that it does not believe there was any foul play.
To give updates on the case, state fire, health, and forensics officials, along with Sheriff Adan Mendoza, planned a news conference for Friday afternoon.
According to Mendoza, the couple might have passed for as long as two weeks prior to their discovery on February 26. Nine days before maintenance and security personnel arrived at the house and called the police, Hackman's pacemaker last displayed activity on February 17.
An image of late US actor Gene Hackman (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)
Hackman was discovered in the front door of the house, and Arakawa was discovered with an open prescription bottle and pills strewn on the bathroom counter.
Two of the couple's three dogs survived, but one was discovered dead in a crate in a bathroom closet close to Arakawa. At first, authorities misdiagnosed the deceased animal's breed.
Authorities seized two cellphones and a monthly planner from the house for examination. Although toxicology findings can take weeks to complete, medical investigators have been trying to determine the reason for their deaths.
At an elevation of about 7,200 feet (2.19 km), the remains were decomposing with some mummification when they were discovered. This was a result of the climate and body type in Santa Fe's particularly dry air.
SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO - FEBRUARY 28: Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza (Photo by Sam Wasson / Getty Images via AFP)
Hollywood legend Hackman won two Oscars during his illustrious career, which spanned the 1960s until his retirement in the early 2000s and included roles in movies like "Superman," "The French Connection," and "Hoosiers."
Born in Hawaii, Arakawa studied concert piano at the University of Southern California. It was while working at a gym in California in the mid-1980s that she first met Hackman.
Perched atop a hill in a gated neighborhood near the southernmost point of the Rocky Mountains is the couple's stucco, Pueblo-revival-style home. Santa Fe is renowned for being a haven for writers, artists, and celebrities.
In retirement, Hackman spent a large portion of his time painting and writing novels away from the social circles of Hollywood. He and his spouse were investors in local companies, and he was on the board of trustees of the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe for a number of years.
