Tests on Gene Hackman’s pacemaker show that he was alive on February 17 when a “last event” was recorded, nine days before his body was discovered with his wife’s at their home, police said.
The two-time Oscar winner, 95, and his wife Betsy Arakawa, 65, were found dead, along with one of their dogs, at their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Wednesday, and police said there were no apparent signs of foul play.
Police say it is a “reasonable assumption” that he died when his pacemaker had its “last event”.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza, who spoke to a pathologist in the case earlier on Friday, told a press conference: “Both individuals tested negative for carbon monoxide.
“An initial interrogation was conducted of Mr Hackman’s pacemaker.
“This revealed that his last event was recorded February 17 2025, I was advised that a more thorough investigation will be completed.”
He also said: “Initial findings noted no external trauma to either individual.
“The manner and cause of death has not been determined.
“The official results of the autopsy and toxicology reports are pending.”
Hackman’s body was found in a mud room, and his wife was found next to a space heater in a bathroom, detectives said in the warrant.
Mr Mendoza had previously said there were several conflicting stories about which doors were locked at the house – he said several were unlocked and a rear door was open, which allowed two dogs that survived to go in and out.
He also said he thought the front door was closed but unlocked.
Two other dogs were found alive at the property, one inside and one outside.
The alarm had been raised by a maintenance person doing pest control at the property, who was concerned because he had not seen the couple, police said.
New Mexico Gas Company tested gas lines in and around the home after the bodies were discovered, according to a search warrant, and no signs of problems were found.
Officers are still trying to piece together the couple’s last known contact with other people but “that’s one of our challenges because of their privacy,” Mr Mendoza said.
A search was carried out after the bodies were discovered and several items were “secured from the residence for evidentiary purposes”.
These included two green mobile phones, two bottles of medication, medical records and a 2025 monthly planner.
Work is now being done to “sift through cell phones” and to look through a calendar found near the couple’s bodies.
Contact will also be made with workers, security staff and family members.
Mr Mendoza said there is nothing which suggests the couple fell, adding: “I don’t think, you know, there was any indication that, again, there was no trauma or injured themselves, or head injury or brain injury.”
The moment when a pacemaker stops working could mark the point when a person dies but not always, according to Dr Philip Keen, the retired chief medical examiner in Maricopa County, Arizona.
He said later: “If your heart required a pacemaker, there would certainly be an interruption at that point – and it might be the hallmark of when the death occurred.
“But it’s not necessarily because some people get a pacemaker to augment things, not necessarily replace things.”
He also felt it would be unlikely for a person who tests negative for carbon monoxide initially to later be found to have been poisoned by it.
Hackman, who was widely respected as one of the greatest actors of his generation, was a five-time Oscar nominee who won best actor in a leading role for The French Connection in 1972 and best actor in a supporting role for Unforgiven two decades later.
His daughters Elizabeth and Leslie, and his granddaughter Annie, said they will miss the actor “sorely” and are “devastated by the loss”.
