Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman was found dead alongside his wife, classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, and their dog in their Santa Fe home on Wednesday afternoon.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department revealed autopsies were completed on both Hackman and his wife in a press release shared with Fox News Digital Thursday afternoon. No external trauma was seen on either the actor or the musician. Authorities continue to investigate the couple’s deaths as official results of the autopsy and toxicology reports are still pending.
Carbon monoxide and toxicology tests were ordered for both Hackman and his wife as the manner and cause of death have not been determined.
A harrowing 911 call, obtained by Fox News Channel, was made by a distressed maintenance worker after the man discovered the bodies of Hackman and his wife.
The employee frantically pleaded for police to immediately rush to the New Mexico residence.
In the recording, the man can be heard telling the operator that he “found two or one deceased person[s] inside a house.”
“Please send somebody really quick,” the caller urged.
While the dispatcher called the paramedics, the man was heard crying and repeatedly said, “Damn.”
“[The house] is closed. It’s locked. I can’t go in,” he said. “But I see that she is lying down on the floor from the window.”
The caller told the dispatcher that Hackman and his wife were not “awake” or “alert.”
“No, dude, they’re not moving! Just send somebody out here really quick!” the man on the 911 call said with urgency.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office held a press conference regarding the investigation on Thursday.
“A search warrant was executed just before 10 p.m. last night. They’ve been working diligently through the night and starting again in the morning to completely process the scene. We’re still in the preliminary steps of the investigation,” authorities said.
A search warrant affidavit obtained by Fox News Digital revealed that Hackman’s wife was found decomposed with bloating on her face and mummification in her hands and feet.
Hackman was found to have the same signs of decomposition as his wife.
Detectives believe that the circumstances surrounding the death of Hackman and his wife are suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation.
When two Santa Fe County patrol deputies arrived at the scene, they walked to the front of the residence and found the front door ajar. They did not observe any signs of forced entry into the home, according to the warrant.
After they entered the residence, they immediately observed a bathroom to the left of the front door. The door to the bathroom was opened, and they discovered the body of Hackman’s wife lying on the ground.
An orange prescription bottle was also found near Arakawa. The prescription bottle appeared open, with pills scattered on the countertop.
Police said she showed obvious signs of death, body decomposition, bloating in her face and mummification in both hands and feet.
The deceased dog was found near her body in a closet of the bathroom, but two healthy dogs were also on the property. One was running loose, while the other was seen near Arakawa’s body. The warrant stated that there were “no obvious signs of a gas leak.”
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