The bodies of Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman, 95, and his wife Betsy Arakawa, 65, both had “no external trauma” when the two were found dead in their Santa Fe, New Mexico, home on Wednesday, according to preliminary autopsy results.
“An autopsy was performed,” the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office said in a Thursday statement on social media. “Initial findings noted no external trauma to either individual.”
The official results of the autopsy, performed Thursday, are pending.
The sheriff’s office noted there were “no apparent signs of foul play” at the scene. However, a search warrant affidavit filed on Thursday stated that the circumstances of their deaths were “suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation.”
The document said the two bodies were found in different rooms. Hackman’s body was found on the ground near the kitchen, next to a walking cane and sunglasses. Deputy Joshua Thomas said in the affidavit that he suspected Hackman had “suddenly fallen.”
Arakawa’s body was in an upstairs bathroom near an open prescription pill container, the contents of which were scattered on the floor.
A dead dog, a German shepherd, was found in a bathroom closet. Two “healthy” dogs were also found, one near Arakawa’s body and another “outside the residence.”
The search warrant also said that no signs of forced entry into the residence were observed.
Elizabeth Hackman, the actor’s daughter, told TMZ that she suspected carbon monoxide poisoning.
The affidavit stated the Santa Fe City Fire Department found no signs of a carbon monoxide leak. However, carbon monoxide and toxicology tests were requested for both Hackman and Arakawa.
“This remains an open investigation,” the sheriff’s office said.