Gene Hackman Death Investigation: Police ID Pills Found Next to Betsy Arakawa

Investigators are discovering new evidence in the deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa. The couple and one of their three dogs were found dead in their New Mexico home Feb. 26. Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza offered new details about critical evidence in the case, as reported by E! News.

Arakawa, 65, was found lying on the bathroom floor with a space heater and an open bottle of prescription medication nearby with pills “scattered on the counter-top,” an affidavit for the search warrant obtained by NBC News read. Medications discovered were for an unspecified thyroid medication, the painkiller Tylenol and the blood pressure medication Diltiazem. Investigators have characterized the pills as “something of concern.”

“That’s obviously very important evidence at the scene,” he told Savannah Guthrie during an interview on Today. “That information was collected, that information was passed to the office of the medical investigator to help them make a determination. So we’re looking at that specifically and other medications that were possibly in the residence.”

Using the warrant, investigators also collected records from MyQuest—an online health lab results portal. They also took a 2025 monthly planner and two green cellphones. 

They’re awaiting results from a full toxicology report. But, the report “could take up to three months or even possibly longer” to complete. He added he’s “hoping it comes sooner than later.”

Authorities have ruled out the possibility that the couple and their dog died of carbon monoxide poisoning after both Hackman and Arakawa tested negative for the substance. Police, however, could revisit the cause if “there’s something else that comes back in the toxicology report.”

Per an affidavit from an officer requesting a search warrant and obtained by PEOPLE, the couple’s bodies showed signs of mummification. Arakawa “showed obvious signs of death, body decomposition, bloating in her face and mummification in both hands and feet,” the report states. The deputy advised the male decedent also showed obvious signs of death, “similar and consistent with the female decedent.”

Mummification happens when dead tissue turns into a hard shrunken mass, often from dehydration. When a person dies, the body starts naturally decomposing almost immediately. Natural mummification can occur in dry, hot environments.