A Santa Fe gas company found a “minuscule” leak at Gene Hackman and his wife’s New Mexico home — but say it is not believed to have been a contributing factor in their mysterious deaths.
Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa’s lifeless bodies were discovered inside their multimillion-dollar New Mexico home last week, as officials determined they showed “no external trauma.”
As a result, their deaths have been subject to much speculation, with early theories claiming that the pair may have died due to a gas leak — a theory that Hackman’s daughter Elizabeth Jean perpetuated, saying they could have been killed by “toxic fumes.”
However, a local gas company has since “confirmed it conducted an extensive investigation for gas leaks and carbon monoxide” and made “no significant findings,” the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Department said.
A minor gas leak was discovered in one of the stove burners. The leak registered 0.33% gas in the air, which is not enough to be fatal.
The gas company added that they issued five “red tags.”
“The other four red tags were for code enforcement violations — not involving gas leaks or carbon monoxide — involving a water heater and gas log lighters installed in three fireplaces,” they said in a press release.
The two-time Oscar winner, 95, Arakawa, and one of their three dogs were found in different rooms of the home. Arakawa’s body was mummified and bloated.
It is believed the pair had been dead at least nine days before maintenance workers discovered their bodies, Santa Fe Sheriff Adan Mendoza said last week.
The last “event” recorded on “The French Connection” star’s pacemaker was Feb. 17, police said.
“According to the pathologist, I think it’s a good assumption that was his last day of life,” Mendoza told reporters, explaining that the date helps authorities build a timeline to determine what led to the couple’s tragic end.
There were “no apparent signs of foul play,” he said.
After obtaining a search warrant, officials stumbled on a prescription pill bottle with pills scattered around the room where Arakawa and one of the couple’s dogs were discovered.
They also found two cell phones, two bottles of medications, and a bottle of Tylenol. It is unclear whose medication it was.
Toxicology and more autopsy findings are pending and the investigation is still ongoing.
