Forensic Specialist Weighs in on ‘Unusual’ Circumstances Surrounding Gene Hackman and Wife’s Cause of Death

A search warrant affidavit from the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office, obtained by Fox News Digital, revealed that investigators discovered Hackman’s body on the floor of a mudroom, with a walking cane and sunglasses nearby. The documents suggest detectives believed the actor may have suffered a “sudden fall.”

Dr. Michael Baden offered his theory that Arakawa’s death might have followed Hackman’s, possibly occurring as she attempted to assist him after his pacemaker ceased functioning.

Baden theorized that in a state of distress, Arakawa may have hurried to the bathroom to retrieve Hackman’s blood pressure medication. In the process, she could have collapsed, scattering the pills and knocking over the space heater as she fell.

“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 said. “Or that 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.”

The affidavit revealed that the deceased dog, a German Shepherd, was discovered in a bathroom closet, approximately 10-15 feet from Arakawa’s body. Meanwhile, two other dogs were found alive on the property. Detectives noted that one of the surviving dogs was initially seen near Arakawa inside the bathroom, while the other was spotted outside the residence. “The dog was constrained in his cage or kennel and would have died from just dehydration and lack of water during the nine-day period that he couldn’t get out of the kennel,” Baden said.