Gene Hackman's Death Considered 'Suspicious'
by EG
The death of 95-year-old Gene Hackman, his wife, and their dog in their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, was initially considered to not be the result of foul play. But later statements by investigating authorities suggest that the possibility of foul play has not been ruled out and that they consider the deaths to be "suspicious." Read on for details.
Sante Fe’s medical examiner indicated on Thursday afternoon that initial autopsies of legendary actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, show no signs of external trauma after the couple and one of their three dogs were found dead inside their Santa Fe home on Wednesday. The actor seemed to have “suddenly fallen” in the mud room off their home’s kitchen and his partner for decades was found in a room off of the ground floor bathroom with prescription “pills scattered on the counter-top,” according to a police search warrant released later in the day. Foul play was initially ruled out, but investigators quickly reversed that statement, calling the deaths “suspicious” and stating that an investigation is ongoing as of Thursday morning.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy,” Hackman’s daughters Elizabeth and Leslie, along with granddaughter Annie, said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday. “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. We will miss him sorely and are devastated by the loss.”
Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 64, had lived in Santa Fe since the 1980s in a home in a gated community northeast of the city on Old Sunset Trail. the two-time Oscar winning star of 1970s classic films The French Connection, The Conversation and 2001’s The Royal Tenenbaums quit acting in 2004 and spent the final two decades of his life living quietly with Arakawa in their ??two-story residence, noted by police for its olive green colored stucco and grand glass entryway in a gated-community outside of the New Mexico city.
“We do not believe that foul play was a factor”, a statement to media outlets early Thursday morning from the spokesperson for the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office initially said, adding: “We can confirm that both Gene Hackman and his wife were found deceased Wednesday afternoon at their residence on Sunset Trail. This is an active investigation.'”
On Thursday, Hackman and Arakawa’s bodies were transported to the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator at the University of New Mexico. Initial findings from the autopsy performed “noted no external trauma to either individual,” the Sheriff’s Office said on Thursday. Carbon monoxide and toxicology tests were requested for Hackman and Arakawa. The manner and cause of their deaths have not been determined, and any official results of the autopsy and toxicology reports are still pending, according to a Thursday afternoon press release from the Sante Fe County Sheriff’s Office, which noted again that the investigation is still open.
Get the rest of the story at The Hollywood Reporter.