Gene Hackman as Popeye Doyle in The French Connection
CNN reports that actor Gene Hackman died days before being found. Data from Hackman’s pacemaker shows he was likely dead for nine days before he and his wife were found dead at their New Mexico home, authorities said.
The pacemaker shows Hackman’s “last event” was recorded on February 17, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said at a Friday news conference. “According to the pathologist, I think that is a very good assumption, that that was his last day of life,” the sheriff said.
According to the BBC : “But police said it is unclear who died first – Hackman or Arakawa.. The two maintenance workers who found the couple, one of whom called the emergency services, say they last had contact with the couple two weeks earlier. The two said they had sometimes conducted routine work at the property, but rarely ever saw Hackman and Arakawa. They had communicated with them by phone and text, primarily with Arakawa.”
Per CNN: A carbon monoxide poisoning test came out negative for both Arakawa and Hackman, the Santa Fe Sheriff’s office said on Friday.
Near Arakawa’s head was a portable heater, which the detective determined could have been brought down in the event that she had abruptly fallen to the ground.
An autopsy and toxicology tests have been requested for both Hackman and Arakawa. Authorities said it could be a few months before the results of those are released. 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.
The local utility company found no sign of a gas leak in the area and the fire department detected no indication of a carbon monoxide leak or poisoning, according to the search warrant. A prescription bottle and scattered pills lay on the bathroom countertop close to Arakawa’s body. Prescription pills found in the home were common medications for thyroid and high blood pressure, according to a search warrant.
NPR: Mendoza said it was unclear if the two passed at the same time. Investigators are still trying to determine who last saw or spoke to the couple, but Mendoza said the couple was “very private,” which is part of the challenge in the investigation.