Legendary actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, had likely been dead for several days—possibly even "a couple of weeks"—before a maintenance worker found them in their home, according to the Santa Fe County sheriff.
"It's very difficult to put a timeline together even with the help of the office of the medical investigator," Sheriff Adan Mendoza said on the "Today" show Friday morning. This came as it was revealed that Hackman and Arakawa suffered "no external trauma" when they were found dead in their multi-million-dollar New Mexico home, according to preliminary autopsy results conducted by the police on Thursday. Their deaths are being investigated by cops.
Dead Long Back
"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 said as it is believed as their bodies had mummified and it took hours for the cops to identify them
Mendoza said that there are no indications of foul play in their deaths as he awaits the official autopsy and toxicology reports.
"Initial findings noted no external trauma to either individual," he said. "There were no apparent signs of foul play. The manner and cause of death has not been determined."
"The official results of the autopsy and toxicology reports are pending. This remains an open investigation." Authorities also requested a carbon monoxide test as part of the investigation.
Arakawa was found on the bathroom floor near the home's entrance, surrounded by prescription pills, with visible signs of death, including body decomposition, facial bloating, and mummification of her hands and feet, according to an affidavit from police.
Hackman was discovered in what deputies identified as the home's mudroom, near a pair of sunglasses.
The report noted that he appeared to have had a "sudden fall" and exhibited "obvious signs of death" similar to those of Arakawa. Workers in the couple's gated community said that they had not seen them for nearly two weeks.
Mystery Continues
Authorities considered the deaths "suspicious enough" to warrant a thorough investigation after discovering the couple's door left open—though there were no signs of forced entry or burglary.
On Friday, Sheriff Mendoza said that investigators are working to identify those who may have interacted with the couple in their final days. However, this has been challenging due to Hackman and Arakawa's extremely private lifestyle.
Mendoza added that it remains unclear whether they died around the same time in their over $3 million home—an important detail authorities are striving to confirm.
"There's no indication that anybody was moving about the house or doing anything different, so it's very hard to determine if they both passed at the same time or how close they passed together," he said.
"We're trying to put that information together ... and I think the autopsy report is going to be key to this investigation."
Standing alongside Mendoza, Santa Fe Fire Chief Brian Moya said on "Today" that a gas or chemical leak could "possibly" have played a role in the couple's deaths, echoing the concerns raised by Hackman's daughter, Elizabeth Jean Hackman.
"That was a home with natural gas in it, so it could have [played a factor in their deaths]," Moya said.
"There's a lot of unanswered [questions] there. 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."
