Gene Hackman’s nephew addresses conspiracy theories about actor and wife’s death
Their bodies were found last week.
Gene Hackman’s nephew has spoken out over the Hollywood icon’s death, explaining that he doesn’t want to fuel ‘negative theories’ surrounding the incident.
The French Connection actor, 95, and his wife Betsy Arakawa, 65, were found dead in their home in Santa Fe last week, along with their dog.
After they were thought to have been dead ‘for some time’, the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office began an investigation into what led to their demise – but it was revealed that an ‘error’ had further complicated the case.
The screen legend’s loved one, Tim Hackman, has addressed the headlines surrounding his loss in a new interview, vowing that he didn’t want to speculate any further.
‘We’re waiting on toxicology. That will tell us everything. It’s hard to theorize. There are lots of theories out there and I don’t want to speculate. It’s easy to speculate negative theories,’ he told Us Weekly.
‘The family wants to keep it positive for now and when we know the truth we will deal with it.’
The bodies of Gene and wife Betsy Arakawa were found last week (Picture: Getty)Tim revealed that the family have been left with unanswered questions over the way Gene and Betsy were discovered with signs of mummification, and what may have led to this.
‘My uncle was 95 years old at an age where you think about, “Okay, it’s time”. But from the circumstances now things have changed a bit. It’s a major change,’ he added.
It was originally suggested that the couple may have died as a result of gas poisoning, but the New Mexico Gas Company issued a statement, via the Daily Mail, that ‘there were no significant findings’ of gas leaks or carbon monoxide in the home.
There is an ongoing investigation into their deaths (Picture: AP)However, they found five ‘red tags’ during the investigation, including one ‘miniscule leak’ at one of the stove top burners, and four code enforcement violations.
The Sheriff’s Office noted, via CNN, that ‘those results are not believed to be a factor in the deaths of Gene Hackman, Betsy Arakawa or their dog.’
Tim’s comments come after investigators shared an update earlier this week, declaring that the pills found at the Sante Fe home are considered to be ‘of concern’.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza told reporters: ‘We’re looking at [the pills] specifically, and other medications possibly in the residence.’
It could take ‘weeks’ to determine what happened to Gene and Betsy (Picture: NBC)He also stressed that no conclusions had been reached about the pills, as it could still take ‘weeks’ to determine the cause.
It was also revealed that Gene’s pacemaker registered its last event on February 17, nine days before his body was found.
‘According to the pathologist, I think that is a very good assumption, that that was his last day of life,’ Sheriff Mendoza added. ‘Initial findings noted no external trauma to either individual
‘The manner and cause of death have not been determined. The official results of the autopsy and toxicology reports are pending.’
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