Hackman was likely dead nine days before body was discovered, Santa Fe sheriff says

Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza on Friday said that the late-Hollywood actor Gene Hackman likely died nine days before his body and the body of his wife were found, based on an examination of his pacemaker. 

Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their Santa Fe home on Wednesday, after sheriff deputies responded to a request for a wellness check of the couple, who reportedly had not been heard from for two weeks. 

Authorities are investigating the deaths as "suspicious" because of the circumstances surrounding their deaths. Hackman's body was found on the floor in a mudroom and Arakawa's body was found on a bathroom floor near a space heater. 

Pills were also scattered on the counter near where Arakawa's body was found and both bodies showed signs of decomposition. 

Mendoza said that both bodies tested negative for carbon monoxide poisoning, and that an examination of the pacemaker showed the last activity it recorded was on Feb. 17, per the New York Times.

“According to the pathologist, I think that is a very good assumption that that was his last day of life,” the sheriff said.

The sheriff said it could take several months to get the official cause of death for the couple, who's unexpected deaths has rocked Hollywood, because it could take three months or longer to get the toxicology results. But no external injuries or trauma were noted on either body.

The sheriff's department also revealed Friday that they found thyroid medication, Tylenol, and diltiazem, a drug often used to treat high blood pressure or chest pain, at the couple's New Mexico home. It is not clear if these were the pills near Arakawa.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.