The announcement of the death of Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, last week sent Hollywood into mourning but also raised a lot of questions.
Those questions continued after a report came out confirming the misidentification of one of Hackman and Arakawa's dogs. It was originally reported that Bear, a German Shepherd, had been found dead in a closed closet, but it has now been confirmed that the couple's 12-year-old Australian Kelpie mixed-breed, Zinna, had been the one found dead in a closed crate in the home, about 10 to 15 feet from Arakawa's body.
The affidavit for a search warrant states that deputies "continued to search the residence where they then observed/found a deceased brown in color German Shepherd (sic) canine." It is currently unclear how the dog was misidentified in the report.
The two surviving dogs, Bear and Nikki, a German Shepherd mix, are currently in the custody of Joey Padilla, the owner of Santa Fe Tails, where Hackman and Arakawa often boarded their dogs. In a statement to ABC News, Padilla said, "they are safe and adjusting," and "I will be holding on to them until I get word on what Betsy's wishes for these dogs are."
Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 64, were found dead in their Santa Fe home last Wednesday. Arakawa's body was found on the bathroom floor, while Hackman was found just off the kitchen in the mudroom. Pills were found scattered across the bathroom countertop, and the bodies showed signs of decay, which suggests they had been dead for more than a week.
In addition, the New Mexico Gas Company has performed an investigation and confirmed "no significant findings." The Santa Fe County Sheriff said on Tuesday that natural gas is "not believed to be a factor" in the deaths.
During the investigation, workers did find a "minuscule" gas leak at one of the stove burners. The Sheriff's Office also stated that the reading registered as 0.33 percent gas in the air, which is not enough to be fatal. In addition to the leaks, workers also found four other "red tag" code violations, none of which involved gas leaks or carbon monoxide. Last Friday, Sheriff Adan Mendoza confirmed that the carbon monoxide tests for both Hackman and Arakawa's bodies came back negative.
Autopsy results are still pending.
With gas-releated deaths seemingly being ruled out and the misidentification of the dog, the case of the deaths of Hackman and Arakawa is a growing mystery. ~Ryan Donahue