A search warrant has revealed more information about the pills found inside the home of the late Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa.
The warrant, obtained by People, reveals Tylenol, unspecified thyroid medication and diltiazem, a medication used to treat high blood pressure were found by the authorities.
The couple was found dead in their Santa Fe, New Mexico, home on Wednesday, February 26. Hackman, who was 95, was found fully clothed, near a pair of sunglasses, suggesting he may have fallen suddenly. Arakawa, who was 64, was found in the couple’s bathroom with an open prescription bottle on the counter and pills scattered on the countertop.
It is not clear which pills were found near Arakawa and to whom the three medications belonged.
As the investigation into their deaths and the death of one of their three dogs continues, police still have not determined a cause. Hackman’s daughter, Elizabeth, told TMZ that she suspected carbon monoxide poisoning, but both Hackman and Arakawa tested negative. The Santa Fe fire department also found no evidence of a leak, though fire chief Brian Moya told Today that they could not rule one out.
“That was a home with natural gas in it, so it could have [played a factor],” he 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.”
Both Hackman and Arakawa are thought to have died around the same time, possibly as long as two weeks ago. Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said in a press conference on Friday that Hackman’s pacemaker last recorded an event on February 17, meaning it’s possible he had been dead for nine days.
Both bodies were found to be decomposing, with Arakawa’s hands and feet also showing signs of mummification.
A forensic pathologist who is not involved in the case told Us Weekly that it was highly unlikely that the pills found near Arakawa were related to her mummification. Instead, the conditions of the room where she was found could have played a role.
“Mummification can happen anywhere from days to weeks [after death], given the right conditions, all the way through months,” the doctor said. “There’s certain circumstances that favor a body going into a mummification type stage as opposed to decomposition.”
One of the conditions that favors mummification is dryness. New Mexico is a dry climate. If the bathroom was completely sealed, keeping flies or other bugs from interfering with the body, that could also have contributed to the process.
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