New details in the mysterious deaths of Hollywood legend Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa are expected to be released Friday — including the first info from the medical examiner, suggesting possible clues in how they died.
A press conference scheduled for this afternoon — the first in a week — is listed as featuring update from the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office, the New Mexico Department of Health and, for the first time, Santa the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator.
Key questions remain unanswered regarding the couple’s puzzling death — most notably, exactly how they died.
Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 65, may have been dead for up to two weeks before maintenance workers discovered their bodies in separate rooms at their gated community mansion, on Feb. 26, Santa Fe County Sheriff has said.
Officials determined that there was no foul play involved, but deemed the circumstances “suspicious enough” to warrant an investigation, police said in an affidavit.
Arakawa was found in the bathroom with an open prescription bottle and pills scattered around the room, with her face bloated and hands and feet appearing mummified.
Hackman was found on the floor of the home’s mudroom in a similar decomposing condition beside his walking cane and sunglasses.
One of the couple’s three dogs, which was initially misidentified by police, was also found dead in a crate in the bathroom closet near Arakawa while the other two dogs survived.
It was first believed the couple may have died of carbon monoxide poisoning, but the sheriff’s office said the pair tested negative results for the deadly gas.
The last “event” recorded on “The French Connection” star’s pacemaker was Feb. 17, police said.
“I think it’s a good assumption that was his last day of life,” Mendoza previously told reporters.
Family and friends haven’t raised any red flags about the couple — but they were well-known recluses.
Mummification, typically begins around 2 weeks after death, Santa Fe Fire Chief Brian Moya said, according to CNN.
Authorities retrieved several personal items from the home including two cellphones, a monthly planner and medications.
The sheriff’s office is expected to release body camera footage from the scene in the coming weeks.