Legendary Hollywood actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found dead in their Santa Fe, New Mexico, home last month, prompting investigating officials to call their deaths "suspicious."
On Friday, officials revealed that the both died naturally, but with differing causes. Arakawa died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome and Hackman, who was in poor health, from heart disease and Alzheimer's disease about a week later.
The bodies of Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 65, were found in separate rooms on Feb. 26, according to the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office. One of their dogs was also found dead.
Hackman was an Oscar-winning actor who was known for numerous roles, including in "The French Connection," "The Conversation" and "Unforgiven." Arakawa was a classical pianist.
Here is what we know about their deaths.
How did they die?
Arakawa died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, Dr. Heather Jarrell, chief medical investigator for the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator, said at a news conference Friday. Hantavirus is a rare disease that is spread by rodents and can cause serious illness and death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Hackman likely died a week after Arakawa, who was last known to be alive on Feb. 11, according to a timeline presented Friday by Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza.
His cause of death was determined to be "hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease with Alzheimer's disease as a significant contributory factor," Jarrell said, based on autopsy findings. He tested negative for hantavirus.
Jarrell said it is likely Hackman died around Feb. 18 — the day after his pacemaker last recorded an "event."
Officials had said no signs of foul play were apparent, and an initial autopsy found no external trauma to either Hackman or Arakawa.
The couple also tested negative for carbon monoxide poisoning, and authorities said Tuesday there were "no significant findings" of carbon monoxide or gas leaks at their New Mexico home.
How were they found?
Hackman and Arakawa were found after someone called 911 to report the bodies. Mendoza said last week the couple had been dead "quite a while" when they were found.
A maintenance worker was at the residence that day to do work and grew concerned after the couple did not answer the door. The worker contacted a security officer in the subdivision, who went to the house and discovered the couple inside, Mendoza said.
A man who described himself as a caretaker of the subdivision called 911 to report the bodies, according to the call audio. He said that the door was locked and that he could not go inside, but that he saw them through the window and they were not moving.
Two maintenance workers said they found the couple's front door ajar when they went to check on the residence, according to an affidavit for a search warrant.
Santa Fe County deputies "did not observe any signs of forced entry into the home," according to the affidavit.
Where were they found?
Deputies found Arakawa's body on the floor of a bathroom, according to the affidavit. A space heater was near her head, and an opened bottle of prescription pills was on the counter with pills "scattered on the counter-top."
Jerell said Friday that the pills were a thyroid medication that was being taken as directed and are not considered a contributing factor in Arakawa's death.
The deputies suspected "the heater could have fallen in the event the female abruptly fell to the ground."
They then found the dead dog about 10 to 15 feet from Arakawa, in a closet in the bathroom.
Mendoza said Friday that the dead dog, named Xena, is undergoing a necropsy and results are pending. Officials said dogs don't get sick from hantavirus so, given the timeline of Hackman and Arakawa's deaths, it’s possible Xena died from starvation.
As the deputies cleared the home, they found Hackman in the house's mudroom, the affidavit says.
On Feb. 28, Mendoza noted it was unlikely either had taken a fatal fall since there was no trauma reported on either of their bodies and that a pathologist would have found an injury — including a brain or head injury.
Both bodies showed "obvious signs of death," according to the affidavit. Arakawa's also showed signs of "body decomposition."
Two other dogs were also found alive on the property, according to the affidavit. One was in the bathroom near Arakawa, and the other was outside the home.
What do we know about the investigation?
Mendoza said Friday they are still waiting on results from the two cellphones that investigators took from the property, but said he doesn’t expect the records will reveal anything further.
“We consider this an open investigation until we close the loopholes of the cellphones, until we finish out the necropsy results of the canine and other other loose ends that we need to tie up,” Mendoza said Friday.
Officials called for a “thorough search and investigation” after the bodies were found. Officials in the affidavit cited a number of oddities found at the residence: the unlocked front door, the space heater on the bathroom floor, the open pill bottle with scattered pills, the presence of two living dogs and a third that was dead, the fact that Hackman was in a separate room from Arakawa and no obvious signs of a gas leak.
After they found the couple, the deputies searched the rest of the property and found nothing else “out of place,” according to the affidavit. All other buildings on the property and the garage were locked, and there was no evidence that the house had been “rummaged through or items were taken from inside.”
Hackman and Arakawa were very private people, Mendoza has said. There is no known video of the inside or outside of their home.
What has the family said?
Hackman's family said in a brief statement Thursday that 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," Elizabeth, Leslie and Annie Hackman said.
