The circumstances surrounding the deaths of Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa were deemed "suspicious," prompting investigations and extensive online debate. Days after they were found dead at their Santa Fe home, a forensic expert believes that Arakawa might have died while trying to save Hackman during a cardiac event.
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Dr. Michael Baden talked with Fox Report and analyzed the details surrounding Hackman's and Arakawa's deaths. While carbon monoxide testing came back negative for both, Baden believes that a cardiac event might have resulted in the fatal outcome for the couple.
"That event would have been a cardiac arrest caused by an abnormal pulse rate," Baden said. Police revealed that Hackman had experienced a cardiac event on February 17. The said date is considered to be when Hackman died. "The pacemaker keeps track of the pulse, and when it gets down too low, it discharges. And that's all in the record," Baden continued.
As reported by Fox News Digital, an affidavit issued by the Santa Fe Sheriff's Office details that Hackman was found in a mudroom. Authorities believe he might have fallen, but Baden pointed out that the autopsy revealed he didn't suffer any injury. To him, Hackman had a cardiac arrest in the room, collapsing to the ground.
Trying To Save Him
In the case of Arakawa, she was found in a bathroom with a space heater next to her head. Moreover, a prescription bottle was also found near Arakawa's body, opened and with its pills scattered across the floor. They were identified as thyroid medication, blood pressure medication, and Tylenol.
To Baden, Arakawa, in a state of shock after finding her husband collapsed in the mudroom, rushed to get his medication. When she got to the bathroom, while desperate, Baden believes Arakawa might have fallen. As a result, she could have hit her head, taking the space heater with her.
"She may have struck her head on the way down and had some internal injury to the brain that doesn't show up on the outside or bleeding in the inside of the brain," Baden added. "She may also, at 65, had severe heart disease and excitement can cause a trigger to the cardiac rhythm causing death under those circumstances. I think the first, that striking her head would be more common."
Regarding the dog's death, Baden initially believed that the carbon monoxide poisoning might explain the couple's and the dog's death. However, when Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa were tested, they both tested negative for carbon monoxide. Baden believes that the dog died of dehydration during the following days after both its owners died. The dog was found in a kennel or cage, constrained.
