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Gene Hackman, his wife and dog found dead in their New Mexico home
Global News
Gene Hackman, 95, Betsy Arakawa, 63, and their dog were all dead when deputies entered their home to check on their welfare.
Oscar-winner Gene Hackman, his wife and their dog were found dead in different rooms of their Santa Fe home, and they had apparently been dead for some time, according to investigators.
Hackman, 95, was found dead Wednesday in a mudroom and his 63-year-old wife, Betsy Arakawa, was found dead in a bathroom next to a space heater, Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office detectives wrote in a search warrant. There was an open prescription bottle and pills scattered on a countertop near Arakawa.
Denise Avila, a sheriff’s office spokesperson, said there was no indication that any of them had been shot or had other types of wounds.
The New Mexico Gas Co. is working with the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department in the investigation, spokesperson Tim Korte told The Associated Press.
“Foul play is not suspected as a factor in those deaths at this time. However, (the) exact cause of death has not been determined,” the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement to CBS News.
“This is an active and ongoing investigation by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office,” the statement added.
The utility tested the gas lines in and around the home after the bodies were discovered, according to the warrant. At the time, it didn’t find any signs of problems. A detective noted that people exposed to gas leaks or carbon monoxide may not show signs of poisoning.
Chris Ramirez, spokesperson for the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, which runs the state’s medical examiner operations, declined to comment on whether any conclusions had been reached on the cause and manner of deaths of Hackman and Arakawa.