Authorities have ruled out Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, died from carbon monoxide poisoning earlier this week in their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The Santa Fe county sheriff, Adan Mendoza, said he spoke on Friday with the pathologist from the New Mexico office of the medical investigator, who said that both Hackman and Arakawa tested negative for carbon monoxide.
Officials had said earlier in the day that initial autopsies had found that the actor and his wife suffered no external trauma.
That means the mystery over the couple’s deathsremains unanswered.
The Oscar-winning actor, who graced the silver screen for more than 60 years, and his classical pianist wife were found dead at their home under suspicious circumstances. Maintenance workers found the couple’s bodies at their home on Wednesday, along with one of their three German shepherd dogs, who was also found dead.
Officials have cautioned that the full results of autopsies may only come in weeks.
The suddenly discovered deaths have stunned movie fans around the world and sent shock waves through Hollywood and New Mexico, where the couple lived for decades.
The Santa Fe International film festival organization said it was “deeply saddened”.
“Not only was Gene one of the greatest actors of his generation but he and Betsy were members of our community here in Santa Fe,” a statement said.
New Mexico’s state senate held a moment of silence at the state capitol in the historic city, with one lawmaker stating: “We were lucky to call him a New Mexican.”
In downtown Santa Fe there were no signs of any immediate tributes visible among the traditional adobe buildings of the area, hailing or mourning the famous residents, and the streets were quiet on Friday morning under characteristic brilliant blue skies and bright sunshine.
Meanwhile the sheriff of Santa Fe county, Adan Mendoza, had also revealed that the couple had been dead for “quite a while” before they were found. The two maintenance workers who made the grim discovery said the last time they had been in touch with Hackman and Arakawa was two weeks previously.
Early on Friday Mendoza told the Today Show on NBC TV that it was difficult to put a timeline on how long the couple had been dead. But he added: “It appears, several days, possibly even up to a couple weeks.”
The possibility that several days might have passed before the couple’s bodies were discovered chimes with an affidavit in which a sheriff disclosed that Arakawa’s body “showed obvious signs of death, body decomposition, bloating in her face and mummification in both hands and feet”. Mummification occurs when dead tissue dries and hardens over time.
The sheriff’s office has reported that when the deceased were found the front door was open, although there were no signs of foul play, and no obvious evidence of a gas leak or carbon monoxide poisoning. But the scene was strange enough that the sheriff’s office sought a search warrant on Wednesday evening.
Hackman, 95, appeared to have fallen in an entryway, a deputy said, and a cane was found nearby. Arakawa, 65, was found in an upstairs bathroom with an open prescription bottle and pills scattered on a nearby countertop. The dead German shepherd was found in a bathroom closet.
“There was no indication of a struggle,” Mendoza said. “There was no indication of anything that was missing from the home or disturbed … you know, that would be indication that there was a crime that had occurred.”
Hackman and Arakawa appeared to have suddenly fallen to the floor and neither showed signs of blunt force trauma, an affidavit said. Mendoza said two other dogs were found alive, and that those dogs were not in a crate and were able to move freely in and out of the house by a pet door.
Authorities were contacted after a worker performing pest control came across their open door but was unable to get in touch with the couple and dispatched security in the area to check on them.
“I think we just found two or one deceased person[s] inside a house for purchase here,” a caller told 911. “I’m not inside the house. It’s closed. It’s locked. I can’t go in. But I see them. She’s lying face down on the floor from the window.”
The caller can be heard saying: “Damn, damn, damn.”
Hackman, a former marine known for his raspy voice, appeared in more than 80 films, as well as on television and the stage during a lengthy career that started in the early 1960s.
He earned his first Oscar nomination for his breakout role as the brother of bank robber Clyde Barrow in 1967’s Bonnie and Clyde. He was also nominated for best supporting actor in 1970 for I Never Sang for My Father.
His role as Popeye Doyle, the rumpled New York detective chasing international drug dealers in director William Friedkin’s thriller The French Connection, brought him stardom and a best actor Academy Award.
He also won a best supporting actor Oscar in 1992 for his role as a mean sheriff in the Clint Eastwood western Unforgiven, and was nominated for an Academy Award for his turn as an FBI agent in the 1988 historical drama Mississippi Burning.
Since the 1980s, Hackman had lived near Santa Fe, a charming arts town – in 2005 it was recognized as a Unesco “creative city” with a thriving tourism industry. It has become well-known in part due to the famed artists and writers that have called it home, including George RR Martin and Cormac McCarthy.
Hackman became well-established in the community, and for many decades could be seen making his way around town. Between 1997 and 2004, he served on the board of trustees for the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. Speaking at the grand opening of the museum, he said: “In the 10 years I’ve lived here, I’ve been taken with the excitement and indomitable spirit of this place.”
The couple lived in a gated community just outside Santa Fe.
“He was loved and admired by millions around the world for his brilliant acting career, but to us he was always just Dad and Grandpa,” his daughters and granddaughter said in a statement on Thursday.
“We will miss him sorely and are devastated by the loss.”
Reuters and the Associated Press contributed reporting
