Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, may have been dead anywhere from “several days” to “a couple of weeks” before being found.
“It’s very difficult to put a timeline together even with the help of the office of the medical investigator,” Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said on the “Today” show Friday.
“Just based on their body and other evidence on the body, it looked — it appears [that they were deceased for] several days, even up to a couple of weeks.”
Mendoza noted there was “no indication that anybody was moving” throughout the house, so it’s “very hard to determine if they both passed at the same time or how close they passed together.”
The couple, as well as one of their dogs, were found dead inside their New Mexico home on Wednesday. He was 95 and she was 64.
According to a search warrant obtained by TMZ on Thursday, Arakawa was found lying on the bathroom floor with pills scattered on a nearby countertop.
Mendoza said about the spilled medication, “That’s obviously very important evidence. We’re looking at that specifically and other medications that were possibly in the residence. So that is something of concern.”
Meanwhile, Gene, who appears to have fallen, was discovered in another room near the kitchen.
Board Certified Forensic Pathologist Priya Banerjee tells Page Six exclusively that it is too early to determine a cause of death.
“What was spilled could be helpful in understanding what medical condition [Arakawa] had,” she says. “The idea of suicide is always there … so you have to consider all the factors.”
Dr. Banerjee says that, although an autopsy and toxicology report will be telling, there is still a lot of circumstantial evidence to consider.
“The medical examiner doesn’t have this universal authority. The medical examiner can investigate the scene in conjunction with the body but the body is all we have. The rest of it, like, talking to neighbors, looking at evidence, that’s a police job,” she says. “It’s all in parallel.”
However, Mendoza told “Today,” “I think the autopsy report is going to be key to this investigation.”
Arakawa’s body, in particular, was found in a state of decomposition with “mummification in her hands and feet” and “bloating in her face.”
Dr. Banerjee tells Page Six that the temperature of the house could have been a factor in how fast her body decomposed, noting that New Mexico has very dry, desert-like weather.
“So much is dependent on the environment, the temperature, whether it’s outside or inside,” she explains.
“There can even be differential decomposition within a house, like if one part is sunny or another part is cool like in a basement.”
Dr. Banerjee reasons that the dog likely died from dehydration since it was in the closet and noted that there does not appear to be “animal activity” on the bodies of Hackman and Arakawa.
“The German Shepherd would have done anything it can to get to the owners,” she adds. The Santa Fe County police previously noted that the canine was either in a crate or kennel.
Although Hackman and Arakawa’s family suspected their loved ones died from carbon monoxide poisoning, the search showed the fire department and a gas company found no evidence of a leak.
Santa Fe Fire Chief Brian Moya told “Today” Friday, “That was a home with natural gas in it, so it could have [played a factor in their deaths].
“There’s a lot of unanswered [questions] there,” he then pointed out.
Dr. Banerjee notes that carbon monoxide could have “leak[ed] out” because the front door was open and reaffirms that there are still too many outstanding variables. She further recommends that the coroner handling this case test the carbon monoxide levels.
“When we arrived, we made sure our people, as well as the sheriff, were safe and there was nothing that we found. We also went back again yesterday to do another round of searches … and we didn’t find anything as well,” Moya said on the “Today” show.
A spokesperson for the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office confirms to Page Six that the investigation is ongoing, and, although there appears to have not been “criminal” activity, nothing is “ruled out.”
Two maintenance workers, who we’re told have already been interviewed by police, found Hackman and Arakawa after not seeing them for two weeks. However, there are no suspects and foul play is not suspected at this time.
Read the full article here
