Why a Pathologist Thinks ‘Companion Suicide’ Is ‘Less Likely’ in Deaths of Gene Hackman and His Wife Betsy (Exclusive)

Mystery continues to swirl around the deaths of Gene and Betsy Hackman, who were found deceased in their Santa Fe, N.M., home around at about 1:45 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 26.

Gene, 95, was found in the home’s mudroom, dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a long-sleeved T-shirt, and wearing slippers. A pair of sunglasses and a cane were nearby. Betsy, 65, whose maiden name was Arakawa, was found dead in the bathroom, where prescription pills were scattered on a counter.

It looked like both had been dead for days, said authorities.

Authorities have since launched an investigation into what happened to the couple, who’d been married since 1991.

James Gill, Chief Medical Examiner, with the Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, is not investigating Hackman’s death in his professional capacity. But he offered insight into the tragedy to PEOPLE, theorizing that a “companion suicide” — where a couple dies by suicide together — is not likely.

“I’ve seen cases like that — usually they’re together in bed,” he says. “The fact that they’re in two separate locations tells me that I think that’s less likely.”

“From the initial kind of circumstances, it seems like he may have collapsed — he’s got a history of heart disease. He’s got a pacemaker. So that would not be unusual,” Gill says. “And the fact that he’s ambulatory, that I think is important too, because sometimes we’ll see instances where someone is bedridden and maybe they have dementia and then their caregiver dies from a natural event, and then there’s no one there to take care of them, and then they can die from dehydration or what have you. I don’t think that’s the case in this.”

Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said Hackman’s pacemaker was last working on Feb. 17, nine days before the couple was found.

Gill says there are different types of pacemakers and defibrillators, some of which can shock the heart if needed, and newer models often have WiFi or Bluetooth to record irregular rhythms, which could help determine the time of death.

“What’s the time [of Gene’s death] related to his wife?,” Gill says. “When did she die? That’s a little bit of a more gray area, I think.”

Authorities also found one of the couple’s dogs, a German shepherd, dead in a kennel crate in a closet near Betsy.

“I think the dog could easily be explained by just not getting enough food and water,” he says. “And they can only survive for a week or so without food and water.”

Two other dogs were found alive and are currently being cared for by a family friend.

Hackman and his wife were found by a pest-control worker who stopped by the house. When the couple didn’t answer, he called a neighborhood security officer, who saw the bodies through a window and called 9-1-1.