Gene Hackman's Exact Death Day Discovered - Here's How...

We may finally have at least one concrete answer in the shocking tragedy of Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa‘s deaths.

The couple was found dead at their home in their Santa Fe, New Mexico home on Wednesday, along with one of their dogs. Law enforcement have labeled the deaths as “suspicious” due to how the bodies were found, the door being open, and there being no sign of a gas leak, ruling out the most plausible theory.

We don’t even know how long ago the couple died.

The maintenance workers who discovered their bodies told police they had not seen Gene or Betsy in two weeks. But how long were they dead exactly??

In a press conference Friday afternoon, Sheriff Adan Mendoza revealed a new piece of evidence that seems to prove the exact date of Hackman’s death. He had a pacemaker, and with that device comes a record. According to the authorities, the last day the pacemaker was active was on February 17. Mendoza told reporters:

“I think that is a very good assumption that that was his last day of life.”

Monday before last, nine days before they were found. God…

Now that a gas leak has been ruled out, the idea the couple died at the same time is no longer a given. Reporters asked the Sheriff if Hackman had died before or after his wife, and he responded that it was “a very hard thing to determine.”

A search warrant obtained by TMZ noted the couple had probably been dead for some time before being found since Betsy was already showing signs of “mummification” in her hands and feet — something which can happen within weeks in the heat. Despite Hackman’s celebrity, it took authorities 12 hours to identify the 95-year-old actor and his wife. Horrible. But a number of factors could have determined their relative speed of decomposition, so like he said… They just need more information.

An autopsy report is forthcoming. Hopefully that will give some closure to their family and other loved ones.

[Image via Buena Vista Pictures/YouTube.]