Actor Gene Hackman probably died several days before his body was discovered, his pacemaker at the heart of the investigation

The American cinema giant Gene Hackman probably died ten days before his body was discovered alongside that of his wife in their house in New Mexico, investigators announced on Friday.

The 95 -year -old actor and classic pianist Betsy Arakawa, 63, were found lifeless on Wednesday in Santa Fe, with the corpse of one of their dogs. The authorities did not find any trace of criminal act, but judged death “sufficiently suspicious” to launch an in -depth investigation.

A first exam by Mr. Hackman’s pacemaker revealed that “his last activity was recorded on February 17,” said Santa Fe sheriff Adan Mendoza at a press conference on Friday. It is therefore very likely that this was “the last day of life” of the actor. “It’s a very good hypothesis,” he said.

The carbon monoxide track “seems excluded”

When the couple was found, pills were scattered near the body of Betsy Arakawa, located in the bathroom, with an extra radiator near their head. His corpse was already decaying. Gene Hackman’s body was found in the next room, dressed and sunglasses nearby.

“No trauma” was found on the bodies, added the sheriff. “I suppose that if they had fallen, if they had injured themselves (…), the medical examiner would have discovered it,” he added, without revealing the nature of the pills found on the spot. The investigation does not exclude any track, he insisted. The complete results of the autopsy and toxicological analyzes should take several weeks.

Last Hackman film in 2004

Gene Hackman had appeared for the last time on the screen in the film “Bienvenue à Mooseport” (2004) and had officially announced his retirement in 2008. The actor had become in the 1970s a flagship figure of “New Hollywood”, a movement of creative renewal of American cinema between 1960 and 1980 marked by emblematic films such as “Easy Rider” by Dennis Hopper, ” Kubrick or “Taxi Driver” by Martin Scorsese.

He had won two Oscars, notably that of the best actor in 1971 for his role in “French Connection”, where he camped the legendary cop Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle. He had been awarded a second statuette in 1993 with the Oscar for best supporting role for his performance in “ruthless”, by Clint Eastwood. He camped there a former killer who became a sheriff of a small town in Wyoming.