Authorities are investigating the deaths of legendary Hollywood actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, who were found unresponsive in their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Wednesday.

Their deaths have been described as "suspicious" by the investigating team.
The bodies of the 95-year-old American actor and his 65-year-old wife were found in separate rooms, according to authorities. One of their dogs was also found dead.

Calling the police

At the same time, the telephone conversation between the employee who found the bodies and police authorities was made public.

In a telephone call, the employee is heard describing the scene while looking through a window.

Asked "are they conscious?" by the authorities, he answers anxiously: "No, no, no. They're not moving. Send someone here quickly."

How did the incident happen?

It remains unclear how Hackman and Arakawa died, and authorities are investigating the circumstances. The sheriff's office said Thursday afternoon that it has not determined a cause of death. Officials said there was no evidence of foul play and an autopsy found no external trauma to either person.

Toxicology and carbon monoxide tests were ordered for both and authorities are still awaiting the results. Authorities also found no signs of a gas leak or carbon monoxide poisoning.

"The circumstances surrounding the deaths of the two individuals are highly suspicious in nature and require a full investigation," the statement said.

When were they found?

An employee was at the residence on Wednesday and noticed the couple was not home, which was apparently unusual. The employee contacted a security officer, who went to the home and discovered the couple dead.

A man who described himself as the janitor also called 911 to report the incident, according to audio of the call. He said the door was locked and he couldn’t get in, but he saw through the window that the victims weren’t moving.
Two maintenance workers said they found the couple’s front door open when they went to check the residence, according to the affidavit.

Where were they found?

Officers found the woman's body on the floor of a bathroom, according to the affidavit. An open bottle was on the counter with pills "scattered around." It's not clear what kind of pills they were. They then found the dead dog.
While deputies were cleaning the house, they found Hackman in a small room of the house.

Two other dogs were found alive on the property. One was in the bathroom and the other was outside the house.

What surprised the authorities?

Calling for a “full investigation,” officials in the statement cited a number of things that puzzled investigators: the open front door, the heater on the bathroom floor, the open bottle with scattered pills, the presence of two live dogs and a third that was dead, the fact that Hackman was in a separate room from his wife and that there were no obvious signs of a gas leak.

After finding the couple, authorities searched the rest of the property and found nothing else, the statement said. All other buildings on the property and the garage were locked and there was no indication that the house had been burglarized.

While there was no clear indication of a criminal incident, investigators are not ruling out any leads.

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