Images from inside Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa's home released two months after deaths
Authorities in northern New Mexico released police body camera video and other public records, including photos from inside the home, in the investigation into the deaths of actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa.
The two were found dead on February 26 in their Santa Fe home.
This image shows the bathroom inside the home where Arakawa was found dead.
The police department also released police bodycam footage from inside the home.
Police found several dead rats and rat droppings in the home.
Hackman, 95, died of heart disease with complications from Alzheimer's disease about a week after Arakawa, 65, died of hantavirus - a rodent-transmitted virus.
The records detail some of Arakawa's last emails, phone calls and internet searches that appear to show she was looking for information on flu-like symptoms and breathing techniques.
The documents and video recordings were released after a court ruled that most of them are public record but ordered that the couple's bodies would have to be blocked from view.
Arakawa's computer showed that between February 8 and the morning of Febuary 12, she was researching medical conditions related to COVID-19 and flu-like symptoms, according to the records released by the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office.
In an email to her masseuse, she said Hackman woke up February 11 with flu or cold-like symptoms and she'd have to reschedule her appointment for the next day.
Her search history on the morning of February 12 showed she was looking into a medical concierge service in Santa Fe.
A call with the service lasted less than two minutes, and she missed a return call later that afternoon, according to investigators.
Redacted police body camera images showed officers going through the home and finding no signs of forced entry or anything out of the ordinary with the home's contents.
Investigators took note of prescription medication on a bathroom counter as one of the couple's dogs barked in the background.
Initially, all photos, video and documents from the investigation were sealed by a temporary court order.
Hackman's estate and Arakawa's mother asked a judge to extend that order, citing privacy concerns.
The Associated Press, CBS News and CBS Studios intervened in the matter, saying in court filings that they would not disseminate images of the couple's bodies.
The court cleared the way for the release of investigative records as long as there were no videos or photos of the couple's bodies.
Both deaths were ruled to be from natural causes, chief medical examiner Dr Heather Jarrell said.
Hackman's death was tied to heart disease with Alzheimer's disease contributing.
Authorities linked Arakawa's death to hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare but potentially fatal disease spread by the droppings of infected rodents.
Hackman's pacemaker showed an abnormal heart rhythm on February 18 — the day he likely died, Jarrell said.
While there's no reliable way to know for sure when each died, all signs point to their deaths coming a week apart, Jarrell said.
Hackman's body was found in the home's entryway, and Arakawa's body was found in a bathroom.
Thyroid medication pills prescribed to Arakawa were found nearby and weren't listed as contributing to her death, Jarrell said.
Investigators earlier retrieved personal items from the home, including a monthly planner and two cellphones.
One of the couple's three dogs was found dead in a crate near Arakawa. Authorities initially misidentified the breed.
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