Circumstances surrounding deaths of Gene Hackman and wife ‘suspicious’

(CNN) — Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found dead in their home in New Mexico along with their dog, the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office told CNN. He was 95.

Their causes of death have not been confirmed, but “the circumstances surrounding the death of the two deceased individuals (are considered) to be suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation,” a sheriff’s deputy said, according to the affidavit for a search warrant obtained by CNN affiliate KOAT.

RELATED | Actor Gene Hackman and wife found dead in home

The bodies of Hackman and Arakawa were first discovered by maintenance workers at their home, according to the affidavit.

The deputy said in the document that he found Arakawa lying on the ground inside a bathroom with a space heater near her head and an open bottle of prescription pills on a countertop nearby. A dog was found dead in the bathroom closet.

Hackman’s body was discovered on the ground in another room near the kitchen. The deputy “suspected the male individual (had) suddenly fallen,” the affidavit said. Both Hackman and Arakawa appeared to have died days earlier, the deputy said.

Two other healthy dogs were found in other parts of the residence. The front door was opened and unsecured, and there were no signs of forced entry or theft.

The investigation found no immediate signs of a carbon monoxide leak or natural gas leak, according to the document.

The search warrant application requested permission to look for any possible combustible materials, controlled substances, weapons, DNA and other potential evidence. It was not immediately clear if the more thorough search has taken place yet or what further evidence may have been seized.

In their initial public statement on the deaths, the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office said, “Foul play is not suspected as a factor in those deaths at this time.” A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office said Wednesday they planned to issue an updated statement later in the day.

Medical examiner’s reports with the final cause of death “generally take anywhere from 4-6 weeks to generate,” said Chris Ramirez, spokesperson for the New Mexico medical investigator’s office.

CNN has reached out to Hackman’s representatives.

The actor’s death comes just days before the Academy Awards on Sunday.

Hackman’s performances in such films as “The French Connection,” “Hoosiers,” “Unforgiven,” and “The Firm” elevated character roles to leading-man levels.

Hackman’s best roles were often of conflicted authority figures or surprisingly clever white-collar villains, such as the iconic, evil Lex Luthor in the “Superman” film series in the 1970s and ’80s. Many held a hint – sometimes more than a hint – of menace.

He won an Oscar for his portrayal in 1971’s “The French Connection” of New York cop Popeye Doyle, a detective who gets his man but at a high cost. His surveillance expert in 1974’s “The Conversation” is single-minded to the point of obsession, losing all perspective.

He won his second Oscar for his performance as Little Bill Daggett, the violent sheriff in Clint Eastwood’s 1992 film, “Unforgiven.”

Fellow celebrities and fans have begun sharing tributes on social media for the late Hollywood legend.

Oscar-winning director Francis Ford Coppola, who worked with Hackman in “The Conversation,” posted: “The loss of a great artist, always cause for both mourning and celebration.”

“A great actor, inspiring and magnificent in his work and complexity. I mourn his loss, and celebrate his existence and contribution,” Coppola wrote.

Actor and writer George Takei called Hackman “one of the true giants of the screen,” in a social media post.

“Gene Hackman could play anyone, and you could feel a whole life behind it. He could be everyone and no one, a towering presence or an everyday Joe,” Takei wrote. “He will be missed, but his work will live on forever.”

Hackman was 36 before he broke through in 1967’s “Bonnie and Clyde,” a role he got after losing the part of Mr. Robinson in “The Graduate.” Before that, he’d served in the Marines, struggled to make a living in California and New York – sometimes with a roommate, “Graduate” star Dustin Hoffman – and worked odd jobs, including truck driver and doorman.

He effectively retired from acting at the age of 74. “It’s probably all over,” he told CNN’s Larry King in 2004 – and did not take any subsequent on-camera work.

Hackman lived in Santa Fe in recent decades with Arakawa, a former classical pianist, largely staying out of the public eye.

Hackman had three children, whom he shared with his late ex-wife, Faye Maltese, who died in 2017.

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