What happened to Gene Hackman?

One of the strangest and saddest stories in the news cycle has been the deaths of actor Gene Hackman, 95, and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, 64, alongside one of their dogs in their Santa Fe New Mexico, home.

The details are harrowing but also strange.

“The couple was found on Wednesday during a welfare check, according to the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office. There were no obvious signs of how they died. However, their deaths were "suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation" due to all of the "circumstances surrounding" the scene, according to the search warrant affidavit.

The Academy Award-winning actor was found on the floor in the mud room, according to the search warrant. It appeared he fell suddenly, and he and his wife "showed obvious signs of death," the document said. Arakawa was found lying on her side on the floor in a bathroom, with a space heater near her body, according to the search warrant. Her body showed signs of decomposition, the document said. There was mummification to her hands and feet, the document said. On the counter near Arakawa was an opened prescription bottle, with pills scattered, according to the search warrant. Near Ms Arakawa's head was a portable heater, which the detective determined could have been brought down in the event that she abruptly fell to the ground.

A German shepherd dog was found dead about 10 to 15 feet from Arakawa. That dog was in a crate or a kennel, according to Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza. But two other dogs were found alive, and it appeared they had access to a doggy door, the sheriff said. One healthy dog was near Arakawa and the other was located outside, according to the search warrant.

So what happened? One of the obvious theories is suicide, a pact. But they died in separate rooms. It also appears they had both been dead for some time when they were found. Presumably the dog that died in the crate was starved of food and water as its owners lay dead for an unspecified time.

Foul play has not entirely been ruled out.

Hackman was 95 so clearly he was in a fragile state but his wife was 30 years his junior. Was it a suicide pact? Could there be other factors involved? What was his wife taking prescription drugs for? Were their deaths at the same time? How long had they been lying dead?

Clearly something very awful happened at the Hackman house and it is such a a sad end to what appears to have been a very successful and distinguished acting career.