Investigators will share updates in the investigation into the mysterious deaths of Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman and his pianist wife, Betsy Arakawa, who were found dead in their New Mexico home last week.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office will host a news conference along with officials from the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator, the New Mexico Department of Health, and Santa Fe City Fire Department on Friday at 2 p.m. MT (4 p.m. ET).
The bodies of Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 65, were found on Feb. 26 in separate rooms of their 9,000-square-foot Santa Fe residence. Police were called after a maintenance worker discovered the bodies.
Hackman was found collapsed in a mudroom. Arakawa was found in a bathroom with an open prescription pill bottle on the counter along with scattered pills. One of their dogs was also found dead in a closet in a bathroom near Arakawa.
Many questions remain unanswered, including how the couple died.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office has described the deaths as “suspicious,” said there are no obvious signs of foul play, and no signs of external trauma were found on the bodies.
Further, the couple tested negative for carbon monoxide poisoning and there were “no significant findings” of carbon monoxide or gas leaks in the home, the New Mexico Gas Co. said.
Sheriff Adan Mendoza has said that the couple may have been dead for days or possibly weeks before they were found.
Hackman likely died on Feb. 17 — the last day his pacemaker recorded an “event,” Mendoza said last week.
Officials initially said the dog that was found dead in a closet in the bathroom was a German Shepherd. But the dead dog is now believed to be their Australian Kelpie mix, Joey Padilla, owner of the Santa Fe Tails pet care facility which is involved in the surviving dogs’ care, said to The Associated Press.
Two other dogs were also found alive on the property, according to the search arrant affidavit in the case.
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