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Hackman initial autopsy results released

Police have given more details about the deaths of Hollywood actor Gene Hackman and his pianist wife at their home in New Mexico.

Initial autopsy results on the bodies of Hollywood legend Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa have been released. 

Santa Fe Police Department has said neither body showed signs of “external trauma”. The deaths are still being treated as “suspicious”.

The Hackman family have said they are baffled as to what caused the mysterious deaths stating the actor was “in very good health”, and that he did yoga and pilates regularly.

A cold case investigator has said there would be “clues” as to how the pair died. 

Authorities in the US state of New Mexico revealed that 95-year-old Hackman and his pianist wife, 63, as well as one of their dogs, were found dead at their Santa Fe mansion on Wednesday afternoon.

Two-time Oscar winner Hackman starred in huge films including as Lex Luthor in the 1980s Superman series, as well as roles in Mississippi Burning, The French Connection, The Royal Tenenbaums and Unforgiven.

It’s been reported that the pair may have been dead for some time with Arakawa’s body partially “mummified” and “bloated”. Pills were strewn around the corpse.

Police have launched an “active investigation” into the deaths. 

The Santa Fe County Sheriff has now released initial autopsy results on the two bodies. 

 

It stated there was “no external trauma to either”.

“There were no apparent signs of foul play. The manner and cause of death has not been determined,” said Sheriff Adan Mendoza.

“The official results of the autopsy and toxicology reports are pending. This remains an open investigation.”

Three jarring finds arouse suspicion: affidavit 

A search warrant affidavit submitted by Santa Fe County sheriff’s deputies has revealed three key details that have aroused suspicion in the deaths of Hackman and Arakawa. 

In it, investigators wrote there were no signs of either carbon monoxide poisoning or a gas leak at the home after testing by both firefighters and gas utility staff Wednesday. 

However, the affidavit newly published suggests the possibility of either happening.

Detective Roy Arndt of the sheriff’s office said “individuals exposed to gas leaks (or poisonous gas) can suffer immediate and unexpected death” and “might not show apparent injuries.”

Investigators revealed Arakawa was found on the floor in the bathroom next to a countertop with a space heater on the floor next to her head. 

“(A deputy) suspected the heater could have fallen in the event the female abruptly fell to the ground,” the affidavit stated. 

A pill bottle was also found open on the countertop, with pills scattered on the surface. 

One of the couple’s dogs, a German Shepherd. was found dead in a bathroom closet just metres from Arakawa, but the document did not state whether the door to the closet was open or closed. 

 

Thomas Jane, Gene Hackman and Monica Bellucci in 2000. Picture: Pascal Guyot/AFP
Thomas Jane, Gene Hackman and Monica Bellucci in 2000. Picture: Pascal Guyot/AFP


‘There are clues’

Talking to Fox News, former New York Police cold case investigator Joseph Giacalone said the bodies would offer up a wealth of pointers into the mystery of how the couple died. 

“Was the house really hot? Did they have a lot of clothes on? The heat can get the bodies into those stages faster,” Mr Giacalone said.

Liver mortis, a purple discolouration in the body, can give an indicator of the time someone has been deceased for. 

“How long have the bodies been there? You can generally determine this based on the stiffness that you see. So, from an investigator’s standpoint, there are clues.”

‘We don’t understand’: Hackman’s daughter

Hackman’s daughter Leslie told Fox News on Thursday that although her father “was 95, he was in very good health”, adding that he did yoga and pilates regularly. 

Leslie said she hadn’t seen her father in a “few years”, only because he no longer travelled much, and she lives in California, but she said they were close and had “been in touch over the last couple of months”.

“I loved him dearly,” she said over the phone. “He was a genuinely good-hearted person.” 

Leslie said she had been “kind of mentally preparing” herself for his death because of his age, but she said it was “very shocking” to hear about his wife’s death because she was only 63. 

“We don’t understand what happened,” she said. 

 

The Entrance to the gated community where actor Hackman lived. Picture: Roberto Rosales/AP
The Entrance to the gated community where actor Hackman lived. Picture: Roberto Rosales/AP



Hackman and Arakawa. Picture: Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage
Hackman and Arakawa. Picture: Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage

Hackman was found on the floor of a room near the kitchen.

He had “suddenly fallen” with sunglasses on the floor next to him, the document revealed. 

The affidavit said while there were no signs of forced entry into the home, the circumstances surrounding the deaths were “suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation,” noting the pill bottle, the heater, and the open front door. 

Additionally, One of their dogs was running on the property when authorities arrived, while a third dog was found alive next to Arakawa. 

The document stated a deputy who attended the scene “advised based on his training and experience nothing appeared to be ‘out of place’ while clearing the residence.” 

Blunt force trauma on either Hackman or Arakawa was ruled out in the affidavit. 

 

Hackman’s family ‘devastated’

Hackman’s daughters, Elizabeth and Leslie, and his granddaughter, Annie, have released a statement.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy,” they told The Post on Thursday.

“He was loved and admired by millions around the world for his brilliant acting career, but to us he was always just Dad and Grandpa. We will miss him sorely and are devastated by the loss.”

 

Police labelled the deaths suspicious in a search warrant filing. Picture: AP
Police labelled the deaths suspicious in a search warrant filing. Picture: AP

 

‘Not moving!’: Hackman 911 call released

The emotional 911 call made by a maintenance worker after discovering the bodies of Hackman and Arakawa has been released.

Hours after news broke of their tragic deaths, entertainment website TMZ obtained audio of an employee frantically pleading for the dispatcher to send first responders to the New Mexico home.

The man, whose name was redacted, told the operator that he “found two or one deceased person[s] inside a house”.

“Please send somebody really quick,” he begged.

As the dispatcher paused to call for the paramedics, the caller began crying while repeatedly saying, “Damn.”

However, the man didn’t seem to have a personal connection to the pair, as he could not tell the dispatcher any personal details about them.

 

Gene Hackman in the film The Chamber. Picture: Supplied
Gene Hackman in the film The Chamber. Picture: Supplied


“[It’s] a female and a male probably. I don’t know, sir. Just send somebody up here really quick,” he said.

The caller said he had “no idea” if the two were “awake” or “breathing” because he “was not inside the house” with them.

“[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.”

He insisted they were not “awake” or “alert” and saw no signs of movement.

“No, dude, they’re not moving!” he said while growing increasingly concerned. “Just send somebody out here really quick!”

The man suggested he worked for the gated community where the couple lived and instructed the officers to meet him at the front entrance.

 

The couple were found dead at their Santa Fe home. Credit: BackGrid
The couple were found dead at their Santa Fe home. Credit: BackGrid

‘One of the greatest’ 

Hackman, who had turned 95 late last month, was once voted as likely to flop in showbiz but instead went on to win two Oscar awards. Arakawa was a classical pianist.

He was known for his role as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde.

He also starred as an agent in Mississippi Burning in 1998 and portrayed Lex Luthor in the Superman movies during the 1970s and 1980s. 

His filmography includes hits such as Runaway Jury, The French Connection, The Royal Tenenbaums, Unforgiven, and The Conversation.

 

Hackman had adopted at least three German Shepherds. Picture: Animal Rescue Inc/Facebook
Hackman had adopted at least three German Shepherds. Picture: Animal Rescue Inc/Facebook

The actor’s prolific resume includes two Oscars, three Golden Globes and the Cecil B. DeMille Award, bestowed in 2003.

The California native was born Eugene Hackman on January 30, 1930. His parents moved from city to city, eventually settling in Danville, Illinois.

Hackman remembers his father, Eugene, saying goodbye to the family with the wave of a hand when he was 13.

“I hadn’t realised how much one small gesture can mean,” Hackman told GQ in 2011. “Maybe that’s why I became an actor.”

Hackman joined the Marines at 16, serving four-and-a-half years in China, Japan and Hawaii before seeking a journalism and television production degree at the University of Illinois.

 

Gene Hackman and Marcel Bozzuffi in<i> </i>The French Connection<i>.</i> Picture: Supplied
Gene Hackman and Marcel Bozzuffi in The French Connection. Picture: Supplied


He abandoned those plans to pursue a serious acting career, enrolling at 27 in the Pasadena Playhouse in California, where he met 19-year-old Dustin Hoffman. “There was something about him [Hoffman] that — like he had a secret. You just knew he was going to do something,” Hackman recalled to Vanity Fair in 2004.

In 1964, at 34, Hackman scored his big Broadway break in Any Wednesday, which resulted in a star-making scene in 1964’s Lilith alongside Warren Beatty.

When Beatty was selecting his cast for the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde, he tapped Hackman to play his older brother. He scored an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, one of five nods throughout his career.

In 1972, he won the Best Actor Oscar for The French Connection, a film that cemented his status as a leading man. The crime thriller boasts one of the best car chase scenes of all time, with death-defying stunts through 26 blocks of Brooklyn — all done illegally. 

Surprisingly, everyone seemed to make it off the set without so much as a scratch.

“Filmmaking has always been risky — both physically and emotionally — but I do choose to consider that film a moment in a checkered career of hits and misses,” Hackman told The Post in 2021 in a rare interview, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The French Connection.

 

Gene Hackman in 1989. Picture: Mark Loundy/AFP
Gene Hackman in 1989. Picture: Mark Loundy/AFP

“The film certainly helped me in my career, and I am grateful for that.”

Following The French Connection, which he claimed he’s only watched once, Hackman went on to appear in Young Frankenstein (1974), Night Moves (1975), Bite the Bullet (1975), Superman (1978), and even Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven (1992), which gave him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar.

He also headlined blockbusters by playing a wayward reverend in The Poseidon Adventure (1972), a down-on-his-luck high school basketball coach in Hoosiers (1986), a sneaky tax lawyer in The Firm (1993), and an eccentric father in The Royal Tenenbaums (2001). 

While presenting him the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2003, Michael Caine revered Hackman as “one of the greatest actors” he knows.

 

Gene Hackman in a scene from Hoosiers. Picture: Supplied
Gene Hackman in a scene from Hoosiers. Picture: Supplied


“Gene Hackman in Hollywood is known as an actor’s actor, but in my house, he’s known as a comedian’s comedian,” quipped Robin Williams, who co-presented the award.

“Whether it be comedy or drama, you’re the most gifted actor in America. You’re also a truly superhuman being,” he added.

After more than 100 credits, Hackman took his final bow in 2004’s Welcome to Mooseport, retiring from the screen — and stunts — to New Mexico.

He was rarely seen and had suffered from minor health problems in the years since. Hackman married Arakawa in 1991 in a private ceremony in the US.

The pair do not have any children together. Hackman has three children from his previous marriage to Faye Maltese.

— with The SunNY Post and Fox News

Author: Editors Desk, Jack Evans , Peter Devlin and Benedict Brook

Source: News Corp Australia Network:

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