The investigation into the mysterious deaths of actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, at their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, entered its third day Friday with more looming questions than answers.
Investigators have called the deaths "suspicious" as they found no obvious signs of a gas leak, no signs of foul play, and nothing out of place at the sprawling property. Adding to the mystery was that one dog, a German Shepherd, was found dead and two other dogs were found alive on the property.
Authorities are now working to nail down a timeline of the private couple's final days.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s office was called to the home on Old Sunset Trail on Wednesday afternoon after a maintenance worker arrived but no one answered the door. Neighborhood security checked on the residence and saw the couple on the ground and unresponsive through a window, officials said. The body of Arakawa, 65, was found on a bathroom floor with a space heater near her head. An open prescription bottle was found on the counter with pills “scattered on the counter-top,” according to an affidavit. The German shepherd was found just a few feet away in a closet in the bathroom.
Hackman, 95, was found dead in a mudroom near the kitchen, according to the warrant.
On NBC’s “TODAY” show on Friday, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said the couple could have been deceased for “several days, possibly even up to a couple weeks.”
Another question investigators are looking to answer is whether the couple died at the same time.
One possibility is that the two may have fallen. A responding deputy who found the space heater near Arakawa said in a probable cause summary for the search warrant “the heater could have fallen in the event the female abruptly fell to the ground.” The deputy also observed finding Hackman in the mudroom with a walking-cane, and a pair of sunglasses near the left of his body. The deputy suspected Hackman may have suddenly fallen.
Toxicology reports and autopsies that are underway will be key to figuring out what happened to the Hollywood star and his wife, Mendoza said. However, toxicology reports can take up to three months or longer, he noted.Initial autopsy findings noted no external trauma to either Hackman or his wife. The sheriff said information on the pills found near Arakawa, as well as other medications possibly in the home, was collected and handed to the Office of the Medical Investigator.
Hackman, an Oscar-winning actor known for starring in the films “The French Connection,” “The Conversation” and “Unforgiven,” had retired from acting after performing in “Welcome to Mooseport” in 2004.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office is scheduled to hold a news conference on the death invitation at 3 p.m. local time Friday (5 p.m. ET).
This article first appeared on NBCNews.com. Read more from NBC News here:
