Local authorities on Tuesday said there were “no significant findings” of gas leaks or carbon monoxide in a gas company’s inspection of the residence of late Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office said New Mexico Gas Company “confirmed it conducted an extensive investigation for gas leaks and carbon monoxide” of the home on the early evening of Feb. 26 — the day the bodies of the couple and one of their dogs were discovered inside the property.
“There were no significant findings,” the office said.
The gas company, though, apparently noted there was a “minuscule leak” of 0.33% gas in air — which the office described as a nonlethal amount — at one of the stove burners. The company also identified some code enforcement violations “not involving gas leaks or carbon monoxide” in a water heater and gas log lighters installed in three fireplaces.
“Those results are not believed to be a factor in the deaths of Gene Hackman, Betsy Arakawa or their dog, though the information was relayed to the Office of the Medical Investigator for consideration,” the sheriff’s office added.
The sheriff’s office has said it will provide any further update on its investigation of the case in a press conference Friday.
Police said Hackman, Arakawa and their pet were found dead by investigators last week after a maintenance worker became concerned, calling neighborhood security, which then alerted 911.
From the outset, authorities said foul play was not believed to have been a factor in the deaths, but a detective in the sheriff’s office noted “the circumstances surrounding the death of the two deceased individuals to be suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation” in a search warrant affidavit filed last week.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza on Friday said both Hackman and Arakawa “tested negative for carbon monoxide.”
Mendoza previously said early indications were that Hackman and his wife “had been deceased for a while” when investigators found their bodies.
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Authorities have yet to name their exact cause of death; official autopsy and toxicology reports are pending.