Police investigating the deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, admitted to an error during the initial investigation
The death of Gene Hackman and his wife stunned the world last week – and now a sheriff has admitted there have been errors in the investigation.
Hollywood megastar Gene, 95, and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, 63, along with one of their dogs, were found dead at their home in New Mexico, with speculation suggesting carbon monoxide poisoning or cardiac arrest could be the cause. However, with the cause of death still officially unknown, a sheriff on the case has admitted to issues within their investigation.
The bodies of the couple were found by a neighbourhood caretaker who frantically called the emergence services after spotting the pair not moving through the mansion windows. There were no obvious wounds on either of their bodies, leading to an investigation into their passing. It is believed they had been dead for over a week.
One of the couple’s three dogs was also deceased. The police force labelled this bizarre as the other two pets were found alive and healthy in the house. The dog which was found dead in the bathroom was 12-year-old Zinna. The pet was a reddish Australian Kelpie mixed breed, according to USA Today. However, police initially incorrectly named the dead dog as the couple’s German Shepherd called Bear.
Bear is reportedly alive and with the couple’s other surviving dog. It’s not known how the animal was misidentified in the initial police report.
Police are said to be looking at three important clues after the mysterious deaths and mummification. A former FBI investigator Bill Daly has revealed the police would be looking at three key things, including the phones, the pills and they will also likely be going through the rubbish to try and work out what happened.
He said: “They can do geolocating around the property to see what was pinging around that time, though they won’t be able to tell who without a warrant, but can tell what activity there was before and afterward, even if they’re not suspecting foul play.”
He also added one thing that he feels should be looked at closely. “There was something about the way that his wife was described in the bathroom that I think is worth looking into a bit more. And she was in the bathroom.
“I guess there was a space heater, and there were some pills that seemed to be strewn, and I don’t know where, if that space heater was turned on. That might change the way her decomposition looks. Having a heat source close to the remains really does change decomposition rate.”
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