A forensic expert has suggested that Gene Hackman may have suffered a heart malfunction and a fatal fall in his final moments, as it was revealed the star’s pacemaker stopped functioning nearly 10 days before his body was discovered.
The bodies to the 95-year-old Hollywood actor and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, 64, were found decomposing inside their $3.3 million New Mexico home on Wednesday.
The couple, who had been married since 1991, were mysteriously discovered in separate rooms within the Santa Fe home, prompting a whirlwind of theories as investigators attempt to piece together the pair’s final moments.
Since the couple’s surprise passing, which could have happened weeks ago given the mummified states of their bodies, speculation has been rife about whether one or both of the deaths were self-inflicted.
As new details begin to unravel, Dr. Michael Baden, chief forensic pathologist for the New York State Police Department, delivered his new theory to DailyMail.com.
‘This is a sad situation all around,’ he said.
Given the new findings, Dr. Baden believes that the retired star may have suffered from a sudden cardiac arrhythmia episode – a malfunction of the heart’s electrical system that occurs when the signals telling the heart to beat don’t work properly.
This could have led to Gene’s fall, which would align with how his body was discovered – in the mudroom off the kitchen, with his sunglasses and cane sprawled out on the floor.
While talking with DailyMail.com, Dr. Michael Baden, chief forensic pathologist for the New York State Police Department, suggested that Gene Hackman may have suffered a heart malfunction and a fatal fall in his final moments
The 95-year-old Hollywood actor and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, 64, were found decomposing inside their $3.3 million New Mexico home on Wednesday, along with one of their dogs
The couple, who had been married since 1991, were mysteriously discovered in separate rooms within the Santa Fe home, prompting a whirlwind of theories as investigators attempt to piece together the pair’s final moments
‘If the pacemaker stops functioning properly, it is easier for a sudden cardiac arrhythmia to happen,’ Dr. Baden told DailyMail.com.
‘It sounds like he died from a fatal arrhythmia, and the autopsy will determine if heart disease was a factor.’
Given that carbon monoxide has been ruled out, Dr. Baden believes that Betsy most likely would have panicked upon discovering her husband on the floor and hurriedly ran to the bathroom to grab his medication.
Betsy’s body was discovered decomposed on that bathroom floor, with a prescription bottle of pills open and its contents strewn across the counter.
Police reported finding the over-the-counter pain reliever Tylenol, an unspecified thyroid medication and diltiazem – commonly used to treat high blood pressure and certain heart conditions.
It is not clear yet whether Betsy had taken the medicines found in the bathroom or if Gene had – or whose name was printed on the canister.
Diltiazem relaxes the muscles around the blood vessels and the heart. It slows down the electrical signals that control the heart’s rhythm, making the heart beat more steadily and with less force.
This lowers the heart rate and reduces the amount of work the heart has to do. It also helps blood flow more easily by relaxing the blood vessels, which can lower blood pressure.
Dr. Baden believes that the retired star may have suffered from a sudden cardiac arrhythmia episode – a malfunction of the heart’s electrical system that occurs when the signals telling the heart to beat don’t work properly
The heart malfunction, Dr. Baden explained, could have led to Gene’s fall, which would align with how his body was discovered – in the mudroom off the kitchen, with his sunglasses and cane sprawled out on the floor
Thyroid medication, however, is less likely to prove fatal. The most common thyroid medication is levothyroxine, a synthetic form of thyroid hormone.
A space heater was also discovered next to Betsy’s body, which raised additional questions about how her final moments played out.
‘She could’ve simply tripped and fallen down and hit her head because she was panicking to get him his pills,’ the renowned forensic pathologist said.
‘She was probably excited, which could’ve also triggered any existing health condition that normally would not have been triggered had she not seen him in that state.’
However, head injuries are not as easy to detect and ‘all falls do not produce black and blue marks,’ Dr. Baden explained.
The process would require sectioning the brain to determine if there was any damage or internal bleeding, which could take weeks to determine.
‘If he collapsed because of the cardiac arrest and she was found in the bathroom with pills all around her, the circumstances around this looks to be that he would’ve died first,’ Dr. Baden theorized.
‘Even if she fell and lost consciousness, her heart could’ve still been beating for days,’ he added. ‘Head injuries and internal bleeding takes time to cause death. If she was unconscious, she would not have felt any pain.’
Dr. Baden believes that Betsy most likely would have panicked upon discovering her husband on the floor and hurriedly ran to the bathroom to grab his medication where she ‘could’ve simply tripped and fallen down and hit her head’ in a panic
Other factors to consider, Dr. Baden noted, is how decomposed each body was – if Betsy was found on the cold tile floor of the bathroom, her rate of decomposition may have been slower than Gene’s depending on the temperature
Betsy was discovered decomposed on the bathroom floor with bloating on her face and mummification on her feet and hands, along with a prescription bottle of pills open and its contents strewn across the counter
Other factors to consider, Dr. Baden noted, is how decomposed each body was.
If Betsy was found on the cold tile floor of the bathroom, her rate of decomposition may have been slower than Gene’s – depending on the temperature of the mud room where he was found.
Betsy was discovered with bloating on her face and mummification on her feet and hands, a search warrant obtained by DailyMail.com revealed.
Natural mummification happens when the body dries out, causing the tissue to shrink and become firm. This process usually occurs in either dry, hot or extremely cold conditions.
The pair had three dogs inside the home, one of which was found dead on the floor inside a bathroom closet. The deceased dog, which was a German Shepard, was discovered only about 10 feet away from Betsy.
The other two surviving dogs were found alive – one by Betsy’s body and the other running loose outside.
Dr. Baden is one of many who admitted that the dead German Shepard initially threw him off, especially since the other two family pet’s were somehow found alive.
Given the bizarre information, Dr. Baden believes the dog was possibly kept in the closet and could have simply died from malnutrition, as it most likely was trapped behind the doors for days with no access to water or food.
The pair had three dogs inside the home, one of which was found dead on the floor inside a bathroom closet – leaving Dr. Baden to believe that the German Shepard had possibly died from malnutrition
As for the other two surviving dogs, Dr. Baden said they could have found some water or ate something to survive.
Similar to earlier theories, Dr. Baden had initially believed that carbon monoxide may have been the cause of their suspicious deaths – despite cops writing in the warrant that they didn’t detect any of the odorless gas inside the home.
Gene’s daughter Elizabeth along with the family had also believed the carbon monoxide theory, suggesting that their deaths came after inhaling the toxic fumes.
Dr. Baden had previously suggested a good question to ask officers was whether they had opened any doors or windows for a long period of time during their investigation.
‘What happens when police come into a decomposing cause, they get upset of the bad odor and they are concerned they will catch something because it is distasteful, the smell,’ he told DailyMail.com.
‘It’s a lousy odor and the first thing they sometimes do is open the windows to let the bad odor out. That could affect the net negative reading at the scene.’
Initially, Dr. Baden believed that the carbon monoxide theory was the only one that made sense.
‘Even if they died of a natural disease, people don’t flop on the floor like that, the way their bodies were found,’ he said. ‘They usually lie down on the bed and call a doctor.’
‘If he collapsed because of the cardiac arrest and she was found in the bathroom with pills all around her, the circumstances around this looks to be that he would’ve died first,’ Dr. Baden theorized, while referring to the discoveries as ‘a sad situation all around’
Similar to earlier theories, Dr. Baden had initially believed that carbon monoxide may have been the cause of their suspicious deaths – despite cops writing in the warrant that they didn’t detect any of the odorless gas inside the home
Gene met Betsy, a classically trained pianist who grew up in Hawaii, when she was working part-time at a California gym in the mid-1980s
Normally, an indication of carbon monoxide poisoning would be a pinkish color to the skin. In this case however, the forensic expert explained, their bodies may have been too decomposed at the time of discovery to present the color.
Yet further examination concluded that the couple had not been exposed to carbon monoxide, officially ruling that theory out as a possible cause of death.
Gene met Betsy, a classically trained pianist who grew up in Hawaii, when she was working part-time at a California gym in the mid-1980s, the New York Times reported in 1989.
They soon moved in together, and by the end of the decade had decamped to Santa Fe.
A naturally private man, Gene was labelled a recluse as he remained out of the public eye for years on end following his retirement from the movie industry.
The pair were married for 34 years before their tragic deaths.
