The forensic pathologist shares the opinion of Gene Hackman, the cause of death of the woman

Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa’s death and that of their dog could, according to forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden can be attributed to a tragic accident.

A criminal investigation into the death of Hackman and Arakawa was initiated on Wednesday after the authorities in New Mexico may have been described as “suspicious” the 95-year-old actor, the 65-year-old classic pianist and one of her dogs in their house in Santa Fe.

Santa Fe Fe Sheriff Department officers said that there were no obvious signs of a foul and no external trauma was seen on Hackman or Arakawa. After preliminary autopsies were completed, Santa Fe Sheriff Adan Mendoza confirmed that the couple was negatively tested and tested for carbon monoxide Oscar winner The actor probably died about nine days before discovering the corpses.

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During a appearance in “Fox Report”, Baden said that Hackman’s pacemaker, from which the Sheriff said, had recently started an event on February 17.

“This event would have been a cardiac arrest caused by an abnormal pulse frequency,” he said. “The pulp tracks the pulse, and if it becomes too low, it unloads it. And that’s all in the plate.”

Dr. Michael Baden shared his expert opinion about the “unusual” circumstances behind Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa’s death. (Getty)

“So the autopsy showed that he had no injury,” continued Baden. “There was no carbon monoxide. And – the most common cause of death in this country – he had severe heart disease, diseases of coronary arteries and high blood pressure, perhaps from what was released. So that would cause it because it has a cardiac arrest in the mud room to collapse exactly there.”

In a search order published by the Santa Fe-Sheriff’s office and received by Fox News Digital, the investigators stated that Hackman’s body on the floor in a mud room with a hiking pipe and sunglasses nearby. According to the documents, the detectives suspected that the actor may have “suddenly fallen”.

Baden announced his theory that Arakawa’s death may have occurred after Hackman’s pacemaker stopped when she tried to help her husband.

“The circumstances and who he was – he was loved by so many – do it so unusual.”

– Dr. Michael Baden

The affidavit stated that Arawkaawa was found in a bathroom with a room heating near her head on the floor. According to an affidavit of the search command, an orange prescription bottle was found near Hackman’s wife. It seemed open to pills that were scattered on a worktop. The authorities listed thyroid medication, blood pressure medication and tylenol among the objects they took out of the house.

The couple and one of their dogs were found dead on February 26th. (Ron Galella/Ron Galella collection via Getty Images)

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“His wife was found in the bathroom,” said Baden. “You did not publish the information about your findings, except that she had no carbon monoxide and that what comes from the scene and what was said was that she found her husband in the mutroom.”

Baden said that Arakawa could have rushed into the bathroom in an excited state to get Hackman’s blood pressure medication before fell on the floor as he scattered the pills and drove the room heating down with her.

“Perhaps she hit her head on the way down and had an internal violation of the brain that does not appear outside or bleeding inside the brain,” said Baden. “Or that even with 65 severe heart disease and excitement, it can cause a trigger for the heart rhythm that causes death under these circumstances. I think the first to hit your head more often.”

Baden theorized that Hackman suffered a heart event and that Arakawa may have died when he tried to get his medication. (Donaldson collection/Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images)

After the affidavit, the deceased dog, a German shepherd, was found “10-15 feet” by Arakawa in a bathing cabinet. Two other living dogs were discovered on the property. Detective observed that “one of the healthy dogs near the late woman (in the bathroom) was initially observed and the other healthy dog ​​was observed outside the residence”.

“What was initially confusing with the release was also the death of a dog that I kept free in the house,” said Baden. “And that’s why I think that the carbon monoxide (theory) was a very good idea with which they breathe in the same air. But it turns out that the dog was restricted in his cage or kennel and in the nine -day period, which he did not stand out of the Kennel from the Kennel.”

Baden noticed that his theory could explain why an emergency call was not made immediately after Hackman experienced the heart event on February 17th. A maintenance worker who discovered Hackman and Arakawa’s body on February 26 911.

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“The circumstances and who he was – he was loved by so many – make it so unusual,” said Baden. “Because heart diseases and breakdown and die with a pacemaker in the United States are common.”

“But the circumstances of the two are isolated themselves,” he continued. “And that was perhaps the reason why 911 was not called, for example, while his wife tried to get and fell medication.”

The couple was discovered dead in their house in Santa Fe, New Mexico. (Urschke/Ullstein picture about Getty pictures)

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Hackman and Arakawa were most recently photographed together on March 28, 2024. Hackman was seen as he held on his wife’s arm. He held onto a hiking pipe in his other hand. Arakawa looked out in the distance and kept her arm up to support her husband.

The couple was shown outside of the Pappadeaux seafood kitchen in Santa Fe. Hackman has lived in the region since the 1980s.

While Hackman and his wife mainly lived a private life, the last event in which they participated together seemed to be the Golden Globes in 2003 when he was honored with the Cecil B. Demille Award.

During a appearance on Friday on “Today” Sheriff Mendoza said that the medication found on the property was “very important evidence on site”.

“This information was collected … handed over to the medical investigator to help them make a determination.

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The sheriff of Santa Fe County, Adan Mendoza, will talk about deaths at a press conference. (Derek shook for Fox News Digital)

When asked whether Hackman and his wife died at the same time or whether one died before the other, the sheriff replied: “I think it’s very difficult to determine. I think it will be pretty tight.”

Mendoza previously explained that toxicological tests were ordered for Hackman and his wife because the species and the cause of death were not determined.

The sheriff, who appears in “Today”, said that the toxicological report can take up to three months for results or “possibly longer”, depending on how the laboratory is. Mendoza added that his team hopes that the results will come “sooner than later”.

Mendoza said that he was “quite confident that there is no foul, based on the lack of evidence of bad game”.

“But of course we do not exclude this. The autopsier results, the official results, will direct us in the right direction. That could obviously change, and we do not rule it out. This is an open examination. It is a few days old. We put the timeline together.

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Stephanie Giang-Spaunon from Fox News Digital contributed to this report.