New Mexico (Agencies): Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found dead in their home in New Mexico along with their dog, the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office told media. He was 95.
Their causes of death have not been confirmed, but “the circumstances surrounding the death of the two deceased individuals (are considered) to be suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation,” a sheriff’s deputy said, according to the affidavit for a search warrant obtained by CNN affiliate KOAT.
The bodies of Hackman and Arakawa were first discovered by maintenance workers at their home, according to the affidavit.
The deputy said in the document that he found Arakawa lying on the ground inside a bathroom with a space heater near her head and an open bottle of prescription pills on a countertop nearby. A dog was found dead in the bathroom closet.
Hackman’s body was discovered on the ground in another room near the kitchen. The deputy “suspected the male individual (had) suddenly fallen,” the affidavit said. Both Hackman and Arakawa appeared to have died days earlier, the deputy said.
Two other healthy dogs were found in other parts of the residence. The front door was opened and unsecured, and there were no signs of forced entry or theft.
The investigation found no immediate signs of a carbon monoxide leak or natural gas leak, according to the document.
The search warrant application requested permission to look for any possible combustible materials, controlled substances, weapons, DNA and other potential evidence. It was not immediately clear if the more thorough search has taken place yet or what further evidence may have been seized.
In their initial public statement on the deaths, the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office said, “Foul play is not suspected as a factor in those deaths at this time.” A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office said Wednesday they planned to issue an updated statement later in the day.
Medical examiner’s reports with the final cause of death “generally take anywhere from 4-6 weeks to generate,” said Chris Ramirez, spokesperson for the New Mexico medical investigator’s office.
Hackman had three children, whom he shared with his late ex-wife, Faye Maltese, who died in 2017.