Scattered pills found near body of Gene Hackman's wife as inquiry continues

Actor Gene Hackman was found dead in a mud room in his New Mexico home, and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, was found dead on the floor of a bathroom Wednesday, according to a search warrant affidavit. An open prescription bottle and scattered pills were discovered near her body on a counter in the bathroom.

A dead German shepherd was found between 10 and 15 feet away from Arakawa in a closet of the bathroom, the affidavit said. There were no obvious signs of a gas leak in the home, it said, and the Fire Department did not find signs of a carbon monoxide leak. The maintenance workers who found them said they had not been in contact with the couple for two weeks.

The Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office said in a statement Thursday afternoon that "there were no apparent signs of foul play."

Autopsies on Hackman and Arakawa were performed Thursday, the sheriff's office said. There was no initial sign of external trauma to either of them. Carbon monoxide tests and toxicology tests were requested for both of them, it said, but the results were still pending and the causes of their deaths had not been determined.

"This remains an open investigation," the sheriff's office said.

Detective Roy Arndt wrote in the search warrant affidavit that Arakawa was found lying on her side on the bathroom floor with a space heater near her head. The deputy who found her said he suspected that the heater could have fallen with Arakawa, the filing said.

Arakawa's body showed signs of decomposition, the affidavit said, as well as "mummification in both hands and feet." The dead dog was found near her, and two other dogs were found alive on the property. Hackman's body was then found, and showed signs of death "similar and consistent" with his wife's body.

The deputies were called to the scene after a maintenance worker who had gone to the home to perform some work Wednesday afternoon grew concerned when no one answered the door, the sheriff's office said in a statement. The worker asked local security officers to conduct a welfare check, and when they arrived and saw unresponsive bodies through the window they called 911.

A pair of deputies arrived and found Arakawa in the bathroom and then discovered Hackman lying in the mud room, with his body in a similar condition to his wife's, the affidavit said. He was found in gray sweatpants, a blue long-sleeve T-shirt, brown slippers and with a cane, the affidavit said. A pair of sunglasses was found to his left. One of the deputies on the scene said that it appeared he had "suddenly fallen," the affidavit said.

Sheriff Adan Mendoza of Santa Fe County said in a phone interview that investigators were still trying to determine what caused their deaths, noting that there were no obvious signs of trauma to the bodies and that no note had been found. The sheriff said the home was continuing to be searched Thursday.

"At this stage in the process there isn't anything obvious like that," he said. "The autopsy is going to tell us more."

Hackman was nominated for five Academy Awards and won two during his 40-year career. He appeared in films that were seen by millions, including "Bonnie and Clyde," "The French Connection," "The Poseidon Adventure," "Mississippi Burning," "Unforgiven," "Superman," "Hoosiers" and "The Royal Tenenbaums."

In the affidavit seeking the search warrant, Arndt wrote Wednesday that he believed that "the circumstances surrounding the death of the two deceased individuals to be suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation."

A magistrate judge granted the search warrant so authorities could collect items from the home, including documents, any narcotics found and flammable substances, among other things.

The couple was found in their home in a secluded neighborhood high above downtown Santa Fe, with winding roads and views of the mountains.

Hackman moved to Santa Fe County in the 1980s after filming some movies there. After he quietly retired from Hollywood more than two decades ago, he wrote several historical adventure novels with a friend, Daniel Lenihan. He was seen from time to time in downtown Santa Fe.

An enthusiastic painter who would use the surrounding mountains as inspiration, Hackman was once a board member at the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, one of Santa Fe's main cultural attractions. He spoke at the museum's opening in 1997 and later narrated a short documentary about the artist.

Many of his paintings, including landscapes and portraits, are hanging in Jinja, an Asian fusion restaurant in Santa Fe that the couple had invested in, said Doug Lanham, the restaurant's owner.

Lanham, a friend of Hackman, recalled him as a known prankster. He said Hackman had once persuaded a child at a local country club event to give him a squirt gun -- and then filled it with red wine.

"He loved Santa Fe because people treated him like just part of the community," Lanham said.

In recent years, Hackman had withdrawn more as he aged but remained devoted to his wife and dogs, Lanham said.

Barbara Lenihan -- Daniel Lenihan's wife and a friend of the couple who has known them for more than 30 years -- said she last spoke with Arakawa, who was a partner in her local home décor business, in January. Hackman seemed to be growing frailer, she said, but he was still painting and drawing.

"They always were somewhat reclusive even though everyone loved to be around them," she said.