Hollywood legend Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, had been dead “for some time” before their bodies were found in separate rooms of their home earlier this week, according to a warrant.
Yesterday the tragic news broke that the esteemed actor, 95, and classical pianist Arakawa, 63, had been found dead at their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
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There was an outpouring of shock and grief online, while fans worldwide clamored for answers as to the manner and cause of the pair’s passing. Hackman’s daughter Elizabeth expressed her belief yesterday that the couple died as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning.
In an interview with TMZ, Elizabeth shared: “The house is fairly modern, built in 2000, but we don’t know if there were any issues with gas leaks or if there were any recent service calls to the property.”
With investigators setting to work to build a clearer picture of what came to pass in the home, new information has been offered revealing that Hackman and Arakawa were found in separate rooms.
According to the Associated Press, Hackman’s body was found in a mudroom while his wife was in a bathroom next to a space heater.
The update, offered in a Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office search warrant, also detailed how there was an open prescription bottle and pills scattered on the counter top in the bathroom.
Meanwhile, Denise Avila, a sheriff’s office spokesperson, stated that neither Hackman nor Arakawa had any type of wounds, gunshot or otherwise.
At the time of writing it has not been disclosed how long the couple had been deceased, though MailOnline claim that the bodies were partially-mummified.
Despite the heartbreaking loss, Hackman’s daughter Elizabeth painted a picture of her father’s peaceful retirement in her interview yesterday. Gene and Betsy had settled in New Mexico after his retirement in 2004, where Gene pursued a quiet life of painting. Elizabeth revealed that her father’s favorite movie was The French Connection, a role that helped cement his place as one of Hollywood’s finest actors.
All told, the actor featured in over 70 films over the course of his career. In 2009, Hackman shared that the reason behind his taking a step away from the bright lights of Hollywood was a stress test which alarmed his doctors.
“The straw that broke the camel’s back was actually a stress test that I took in New York,” he told Empire. “The doctor advised me that my heart wasn’t in the kind of shape that I should be putting it under any stress.”
The investigation into the deaths remains ongoing.