Gene Hackman investigators are looking at a new lead (Image: Getty)
There has been a new update in the Gene Hackman death investigation as police try desperately to seek answers on the circumstances of the couple’s death. Hackman, 95, and his wife Betsy Arakawa, 65, were found dead at their Santa Fe home, along with one of their dogs.
Santa Fe police officers are trying to establish the couple’s last movements, as it has been announced that Hackman may have been dead for up to ten days before being found. Officers discovered two cell phones found at the property, which could provide vital clues to who Hackman and Arakawa were in contact with in the run-up to their deaths. The phones have been taken away to be analysed, and police may have to bring in external forensic experts to inspect them.
Hackman and Arakawa’s deaths have been shrouded in mystery, as the couple were found deceased in two separate rooms, while two surviving dogs were found on the property.
Gene and Betsy were living a reclusive life together before they died (Image: Getty)
They have been unable to establish if Hackman or Arakawa died first. Authorities have also ruled out carbon monoxide poisoning as their cause of death.
Santa Fe county sheriff, Adan Mendoza, confirmed that pathologist from the New Mexico office of the medical investigator had determined both Hackman and Arakawa tested negative for carbon monoxide.
Mendoza confirmed the last event noted on Hackman’s pacemaker was February 17. When asked if this could be the day Hackman died, Mendoza noted that was a “very good assumption.”
“According to the pathologist, I think that is a very good assumption that that was his last day of life,” Mendoza said.
Initial autopsies had found that the actor and his wife suffered no external trauma, and it could be months before the results from the full autopsy are revealed.
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The inspection of the phones comes as police are interviewing friends, families and neighbours of the couple to try and establish a timeline. They are also looking at CCTV, but they have admitted it has proven to be difficult.
Mendoza confirmed that is currently CCTV to aid their investigation He said: “There is no surveillance as we know it right now, in in in the interior of the residence or the exterior of the residents.”
The pair’s reclusive life also means there appears to be a lack of contact with people outside their home, as the maintenance worker who found them revealed he hadn’t spoken to the couple for weeks. Meanwhile, Hackman’s daughter Leslie also admitted she hadn’t spoken to her father for months before his death.