On Feb. 26, actor Gene Hackman and his wife, classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, were found dead in their home in Santa Fe in what authorities have called "suspicious" circumstances. One expert now thinks that some new evidence could finally solve the mystery of their deaths.
Authorities have collected several pieces of evidence from the house, obtaining two cellphones, an orange prescription bottle, and a 2025 planner. However, investigators still do not have many answers regarding the cause of death, the timeline, whether or not drugs or medication played a role, or if foul play was involved.
With so much still unknown, Paul Mauro, a retired NYPD inspector and Fox News contributor, seems to think that new evidence which Fox News says "could solve" the mystery of the couple's "suspicious" death.
"The public shouldn't jump to too many conclusions," Mauro told Fox News Digital. "Investigators are going to get a lot of digital evidence. Reportedly, there are no cameras [in or around the house], but that doesn't mean there are no cameras in the area. It's a gated community. So, there are probably cameras at the gate and on the streets. The neighbors almost certainly have Ring cameras.
"The digital evidence is going to show investigators, in a very pointed way, at what point, whatever occurred, occurred. You're going to get a narrow window that you can work with. Now, once you have that, then you can really go all out at all the possible evidence points to get more data to work with. You can pull the Ring camera from the neighbors, pull the camera from the front gate, from the surrounding areas. You can see any cars going in and out."
While Hackman and Arakawa reportedly became reclusive later in life, Arakawa was reportedly in very good health and they did still drive and leave their home. Mauro thinks that data from their vehicles and a possible sign of a disruption in their routine could be key in solving the mystery of their deaths.
"Reportedly, Hackman and Arakawa would go regularly into Santa Fe to get coffee and run errands," Mauro said. "They're driving around. So, let's say they drove every day. They had a routine. Every day they went to get coffee, and then … they stopped going. Again, it's another indicator. Cars these days are rolling computers.
"You'll see, ‘OK, they stopped going in the car at that point.' But what if the last time they were in the car they went to a doctor they have never gone to before or something like that?
"Then you're going to follow that up because it's going to have a GPS in there," he added. "You can see where the car went. You can say, 'Well, the day before she died, looks like she was at a pharmacy and re-upped her pills, and she got a pill that she'd never gotten before.' Maybe she had a bad reaction to it. Did he find her and was he going for help and fell? These are all theories you have to entertain, and the digital evidence will lead you there."
While experts believe the two likely died around the same time, investigators have been unable to determine the exact time of death for either Hackman or Arakawa. They've also been unable to determine who died first. Mauro thinks the new evidence will be key in determining that, which will then play a big part in solving the mystery.
"The time of death is really, really important here," he added. "You really want to narrow your window of what you've got to scrape at."
The couple tested negative for carbon monoxide, and authorities concluded that a gas leak was not to blame. Investigators also found no external trauma on either Hackman or Arakawa and no "obvious" or "immediate" signs of foul play, though they have not completely ruled out foul play.
Authorities also found pills scattered near the body of Arakawa, which Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza called "important evidence," but authorities don't yet know if they are related to the deaths and will not know until the toxicology report comes back.
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