Gene Hackman’s wife may have died before him in some kind of medical episode, a law enforcement source told MSNBC, as authorities continue to investigate the couple’s mysterious deaths.
Hackman, 95, and his classical pianist wife Betsy Arakawa, 64, were found dead inside their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Wednesday. Authorities say there were no apparent signs of “foul play,” and no gas leak was detected in the property.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office said autopsies on Hackman and Arakawa showed no signs of external trauma, with Sheriff Adan Mendoza telling the New York Times that investigators are still working to determine what caused the deaths. He added that no note was found at the scene.
Speaking on Friday’s Morning Joe, co-host Jonathan Lemire said: “One theory that a law enforcement person familiar with the case floated to me yesterday is it’s perhaps Mrs. Hackman, Gene Hackman’s wife, died first of some sort of medical episode, and then Gene Hackman, who was 95 and not in the best of health, perhaps died afterwards.”
Lemire then theorized himself as to what could have led to the Unforgiven actor’s demise. “Whether he was trying to assist her or sometime later, it’s unclear, but from those initial reports it seems like both have been dead for some time and maybe her more than him.”
A search warrant affidavit said Arakawa’s body was found in the bathroom inside the couple’s home. An open prescription pill bottle and scattered pills were found near her, along with a space heater that deputies thought could have fallen with her, the affidavit said.
Hackman’s body was found in the property’s mud room, according to the affidavit. A sheriff’s deputy at the scene said it looked like Hackman had “suddenly fallen.”
Arakawa’s body showed “obvious signs of death, body decomposition, bloating in her face and mummification in both hands and feet,” the affidavit said. Hackman’s body showed signs of death “similar and consistent” to those of his wife.
A dead German shepherd dog was found in the bathroom closet around 10 to 15 feet from Arakawa, while two other dogs were also found alive at the home.
“Perhaps the dog got into those pills while the others were still alive elsewhere on the property,” Lemire said on Morning Joe. “But again, this is just one theory at this point. Nothing is certain.”
In a statement Thursday, Sheriff Mendoza similarly stressed that no official explanation for the tragedy is yet available.
“The manner and cause of death has not been determined,” he said. “The official results of the autopsy and toxicology reports are pending. This remains an open investigation.”
