Gene Hackman and wife deaths

Sheriff says Oscar-winning actor and wife could have been dead for ‘weeks’

The Oscar-winning actor, renowned for 'The French Connection' and 'The Conversation', was discovered deceased alongside his wife, Betsy Arakawa, and their pet dog.

Gene Hackman, aged 95, has been discovered deceased at his home in Santa Fe, along with his wife, Betsy Arakawa, aged 65, and one of their pet dogs.

A police search warrant indicated that the actor, his wife, and their dog were located in different rooms and seemed to have been deceased for some time. Preliminary results from a medical investigation revealed that the couple exhibited no signs of external trauma.

Earlier, it was suspected that the couple and their dog died of carbon monoxide poisoning. It has been confirmed that both Hackman and Arakawa had tested negative for carbon monoxide.

Gene Hackman is believed to have been deceased since February 17, according to recordings from his pacemaker. Authorities reported on Friday that he and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, may have died weeks prior to the discovery of their bodies in their Santa Fe home.

The couple’s bodies were discovered in their Santa Fe residence on Wednesday night. According to a search warrant, Arakawa's remains exhibited clear signs of death, along with decomposition and mummification in both the hands and feet. Hackman’s body was found in a condition that was “similar and consistent.”

Natural mummification takes place when a body desiccates, resulting in tissues becoming shrunken and hardened. This phenomenon usually occurs in either arid and warm or extremely cold environments.

Eugene Allen Hackman was an American actor. In a career that spanned over four decades, he received two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards.

The deaths have been ruled as suspicious.