Gene Hackman Death Updates Expected Today

As more questions than answers linger around the mysterious deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa, investigators are expected to provide some details about the investigation in a press conference Friday afternoon.

More than a week after Hackman and Arakawa were found dead in their New Mexico home last week, the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office will host a news conference with the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator, the New Mexico Department of Health and Santa Fe City Fire Department at 2 p.m. MT (4 p.m. ET) Friday.

Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 65, were found by a maintenance worker on Wednesday, Feb. 26 in separate rooms of their Santa Fe home. Hackman was found collapsed in a mudroom; Arakawa was found in a bathroom with an open prescription pill bottle on the nearby counter along with scattered pills. One of their dogs was also found dead in a closet in a bathroom near Arakawa.

Questions about the causes and manners of their deaths remain unanswered, though there are plenty of theories floating around. The Sheriff’s Office described the deaths as “suspicious” but said there are no obvious signs of foul play. No signs of external trauma were found on the bodies, and they tested negative for carbon monoxide poisoning. The New Mexico Gas Co. said that at the time the bodies were discovered, there were “no significant findings” of carbon monoxide or gas leaks in the home.

Sheriff Adan Mendoza said that the couple may have been dead for days or possibly weeks. Hackman’s pacemaker recorded an “event” on Feb. 17, Mendoza said last week, which means he likely died on that day.

The deceased dog found on the scene was initially misidentified as a German shepherd; however, the dead dog is now believed to be the couple’s Australian kelpie mix. Two other dogs were found alive on the property, according to a search warrant affidavit .