Actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found dead on Wednesday afternoon, along with the family dog.
At first TMZ reported that carbon monoxide poisoning was to blame for the deaths.
The Daily Mail later Thursday reported that Hackman and his wife were found ‘mummified’ in their Santa Fe, New Mexico, compound.
Authorities were unable to immediately identify the bodies because they were poorly decomposed.
The Daily Mail reported that prescription pills were scattered on the bathroom counter near Arakawa’s body.
Groundskeepers said they hadn’t seen the couple in two weeks.
The Daily Mail reported:
Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found partially-mummified at the couple’s $3.3 million mansion, with pills strewn in their bathroom.
An arrest warrant obtained by DailyMail.com revealed Arakawa, 64, was found decomposed with bloating on her face and mummification in her hands and feet.
Sheriffs said Hackman was found to have the same signs of decomposition as his wife.
Two maintenance workers called Roland Lowe Begay and Jesse Kesler discovered the bodies of Arakawa and her retired Hollywood star husband at their luxurious million Santa Fe mansion Wednesday at 1:46pm Mountain Time.
The identities of Hackman and Arakawa were not released for nearly 12 hours, with details of how the couple were found now offering a possible explanation for the delay.
Begay and Kesler told investigators they hadn’t seen them for two weeks. Both appear to have been dead for some time.
Arakawa was discovered lying on the bathroom floor of the couple’s home on her right side, with an open prescription bottle of pills scattered across a nearby countertop. No indication has been given as to what the pills were and whether they had been prescribed to Hackman or his wife.
