When I made that post, I had read that the two of them were found dead lying in bed. That sounds like a suicide pact. But it turned out to be false. As I now understand they were found on the floors of two different rooms, and CO was ruled out. Very mysterious.

I didn't see anything in the article about where they were found, but if it has said that they were found in bed, that would have made be even more suspicious of CO poisoning -- that is very commonly how CO kills people, in their sleep.

I saw on the news yesterday that it appears they were dead for many days before they were found and that the coroner is trying to rush the toxicology report. So I don't know how they could have ruled out CO poisoning. The report said that they didn't find any CO in the house, but unless the source kept emitting CO, I wouldn't expect them to find any that long after the event. When our CO alarm went off (in the middle of the night while we were in bed), I opened the front door and the levels dropped to zero (i.e., undetectable by our monitor) in just a few minutes. We never left the house (since it was -20°F outside). The culprit was a blocked flue on our woodburning stove.

 

Probably CO poisoning leaves unmistakable clues in a dead body that they didn’t find in this case ...

 

The bodies of both were found partly mummified, so they had been their a while in the dry climate.

 

More pure speculation but interesting as a theory of what could have happened.
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainme...c-expert-shares-opinion-unusual-circumstances
Forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden shared his theory on how Hackman, his wife Betsy Arakawa and their dog died after their bodies were discovered Wednesday

"So the autopsy showed he didn't have any injury," Baden continued. "There was no carbon monoxide. And he had — the most common cause of death in this country — severe heart disease, coronary artery disease and high blood pressure perhaps, from what's been released. So that would cause him, having cardiac arrest in the mudroom, to collapse right there."
...
Baden shared his theory that Arakawa's death may have occurred after Hackman's pacemaker stopped while she was trying to help her husband.
...
Baden explained that in an agitated state, Arakawa could have rushed to the bathroom to get Hackman's blood pressure medication before falling to the floor while scattering the pills and taking the space heater down with her.

"She may have struck her head on the way down and had some internal injury to the brain that doesn't show up on the outside or bleeding in the inside of the brain," Baden said. "Or that she may also, at 65, had severe heart disease and excitement can cause a trigger to the cardiac rhythm causing death under those circumstances. I think the first, that striking her head would be more common."

Heart attacks killed them both.

 

More pure speculation but interesting as a theory of what could have happened.
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainme...c-expert-shares-opinion-unusual-circumstances
Forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden shared his theory on how Hackman, his wife Betsy Arakawa and their dog died after their bodies were discovered Wednesday


Heart attacks killed them both.

Unlikely, but worth considering, IMHO

EDIT: and the dog?

 

Unlikely, but worth considering, IMHO

EDIT: and the dog?

Who knows at this time what's likely? Those that might know are not telling.

Killed by the cat? No idea.

 

 

I'm still putting my money on carbon monoxide.

I know that the sheriff said soon after the bodies were found that tests had ruled out carbon monoxide, but as near as I can tell, that was based on two tests done for current CO levels in the house. He said in that same news conference that the bodies had been transported to the medical examiners office (meaning that the ME hadn't done any tests yet). My guess is that at the time that they ruled out CO as the cause of death, they were operating under an assumption that the deaths had happened very recently, not ten days prior. The descriptions of how they were found strike me more and more like they both succumbed, independently, to CO and fell unconscious, probably at different times, perhaps even hours apart, as they were going about their normal activities.

I'm very interested to see what the toxicology report shows, and particularly interested to see if the ME addresses how, and how well, they can detect and/or rule out CO poisoning in a body that is more than a week dead.

As for Hackman, he was always one of my favorite actors. I didn't always like the movies that he was in, but he always brought so much to his characters even then.

 

Latest update (Friday Feb 28) said they both tested negative for CO.

 

Latest update (Friday Feb 28) said they both tested negative for CO.

That makes his heart failure more likely as the trigger event for this. He dies a natural death from heart failure, she and the dog die during activities taken after that death. What those later actions were and why are the main questions for me. His death at 95 seems very ordinary.

 

Hello,

This is the text on the dutch site of nos.nl:
Acteur Gene Hackman en vrouw waarschijnlijk al negen dagen dood in huis

Acteur Gene Hackman en zijn vrouw Betsy Arakawa zijn waarschijnlijk negen dagen eerder overleden voordat ze werden gevonden in hun huis in Santa Fe. Dat heeft de plaatselijke sheriff gezegd.

Uit onderzoek is gebleken dat de pacemaker van de 95-jarige Hackman op 17 februari stopte met werken. Afgelopen woensdag werd hij samen met zijn vrouw dood aangetroffen in hun woning in New Mexico. Ook hun hond was overleden.

Na de eerste autopsie kon worden uitgesloten dat er sprake was van koolmonoxidevergiftiging. Ook zijn er geen gaslekken in of rond het huis aangetroffen. De politie gaat ervan uit dat er geen sprake is van een misdrijf.

Op dit moment worden er toxicologische testen gedaan om te kijken of bijvoorbeeld medicijnen een rol hebben gespeeld bij de dood. Dat rapport kan echter nog maanden op zich laten wachten, liet de sheriff eerder weten.

Eerder werd bekend dat de lichamen van Hackman en Arakawa in verschillende kamers in het huis zijn gevonden. Hackman lag in de bijkeuken, zijn vrouw in een van de badkamers. In de badkamer waar het lichaam van Arakawa werd gevonden, lag een geopend potje pillen.

Succesvolle carrière

Gene Hackman won in zijn lange carrière van zo'n veertig jaar onder meer twee Oscars en tientallen andere filmprijzen, waaronder vier Golden Globes en twee BAFTA Awards. Hij speelde onder meer in succesvolle films als The French Connection (1971), Unforgiven (1993) en Superman (1978). In 2004 ging hij met pensioen. Zijn vrouw Arakawa was klassiek pianist. Hackman trouwde in 1991 met haar.

This is the translation:
Actor Gene Hackman and wife likely dead in home for nine days

Actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa likely died nine days before they were found in their Santa Fe home, the local sheriff said.

Investigations revealed that the 95-year-old Hackman's pacemaker stopped working on February 17. Last Wednesday, he and his wife were found dead in their New Mexico home. Their dog had also died.

After the first autopsy, it was ruled out that there was carbon monoxide poisoning. There were also no gas leaks in or around the house. The police do not believe there was any foul play.

Toxicology tests are currently being conducted to see if, for example, medications played a role in the death. However, that report could take months, the sheriff said earlier.

It was previously announced that the bodies of Hackman and Arakawa were found in different rooms in the house. Hackman was in the utility room, his wife in one of the bathrooms. In the bathroom where Arakawa's body was found, there was an open bottle of pills.

Successful career

In his long career of some forty years, Gene Hackman won two Oscars and dozens of other film awards, including four Golden Globes and two BAFTA Awards. He played in successful films such as The French Connection (1971), Unforgiven (1993) and Superman (1978). He retired in 2004. His wife Arakawa was a classical pianist. Hackman married her in 1991.

 

I'm wondering if the culprit was something the three of them ate? ... botulism comes to mind, for instance

 

Hello,

@cmartinez , what wonders me is the open bottle of pills near Arakawa.
What kind of pills where that?

Bertus

 

Hello,

@cmartinez , what wonders me is the open bottle of pills near Arakawa.
What kind of pills where that?

Bertus

If she was feeling unwell, it could be any kind of pain killers or something to treat indigestion or nausea ...

 

The identification of the pills is fairly straight forward and could possibly shed light on the causes of death-Why are they keeping quiet them.

There are two living dogs not accounted for in reports. What can the dogs tell us?

 

The identification of the pills is fairly straight forward and could possibly shed light on the causes of death-Why are they keeping quiet them.

There are two living dogs not accounted for in reports. What can the dogs tell us?

https://people.com/pills-found-gene-hackman-betsy-arakawa-revealed-docs-11688607
Document Reveals Which Pills Were Found After Deaths of Gene Hackman and Wife
Thyroid medication, Tylenol and medication used to treat high blood pressure were found

The sheriff said authorities are "trying to put together a timeline," but said that it would be a "challenge," noting that the couple were very private.
In the affidavit, authorities said there was no sign of a carbon monoxide leak or poisoning, but speaking on Today, fire chief Brian Moya did not rule out the possibility that a leak could have caused the deaths.
“That was a home with natural gas in it, so it could have [played a factor],” Moya said. “There’s a lot of unanswered [questions] there. When we arrived, we made sure our people as well as the sheriff were safe, and there was nothing that we found. We also went back again yesterday to do another round of searches … and we didn’t find anything as well.”

 

I read the bodies were "semi mummified" and had been dead for nearly a week when found. The crazies are already at it on YouTube about tunnels with "weird" things being found under the house. I'd wait for the tox screen before putting much into the various rumors flying about. Sad situation. As to the other 2 dogs, in cases where pets were present when owners pass away, pets can do some very savage things to the deceased when they get hungry. I had a cousin die in that situation and the cats had been at her when the police were called for a welfare check by the neighbors after not seeing her for several days. Had to be a closed casket funeral.

 

This is very, VERY strange:

​

 

This is very, VERY strange:

View attachment 344005​

Can a dog die of Hantavirus? Maybe it’s possible. Found something…..

Thankfully, no. Canines, felines and other types of animals are not susceptible to the illness. Rodents are the carriers of the disease.
Bringing home a "treasured catch" from a playtime outside can be a way that your pet puts you at risk of Hantavirus, however, which is transmitted through contaminated rodent droppings, urine, saliva, or nesting materials. Particles that contain the virus can be released into the air and breathed in. If a person is cleaning a shed, for example, they may stir up the particles as they sweep the interior.
Rodents from the pet store, like rats and hamsters, are not carriers of the disease so there is no risk to cleaning their cage or handling them.

kv

 

Today in the News is saying the Dog just had a procedure done and that explains why it was in the Kennel. She Died and Gene had no idea she was dead and the Dog likely died without water for so long.

kv