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By Megan Cartwright
Associate News Editor
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Gene Hackman's neighbor said his wife, Betsy Arakawa, appeared to be "in perfect health" prior to her death.
The couple and one of their dogs were found dead in their New Mexico home on February 26 by maintenance and security workers. Two other dogs discovered on the property were "healthy," authorities said.
While Hackman was found in the home's entryway, Arakawa was discovered in the bathroom, where prescription pills were scattered on the counter.
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Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said there was no indication of foul play.
"This is an active and ongoing investigation," a spokesperson told Newsweek via email.
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Barbara Lenihan—Hackman and Arakawa's neighbor and friend—told People: "Gene was as proud of Betsy as she was of him."
Arakawa was a talented classical pianist, and their Santa Fe property included a piano studio for her and a painting studio for Hackman.
"He would request that she would play a couple songs for us," Lenihan said. "She was excellent."
Lenihan's husband, Daniel Lenihan, cowrote novels with Hackman. Their son, Aaron Lenihan, said that the Superman star and his spouse were "one the tightest couples I've ever seen—really, really close to each other," he told the outlet. "They were both incredibly kind."
The New Mexico Gas Company carried out a thorough investigation for gas leaks and carbon monoxide at Hackman and Arakawa's home, but "there were no significant findings," the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office said in a statement on Tuesday.
As more details continue to be released, a new theory has emerged about their cause of death.
Connecticut Chief Medical Examiner James Gill, who is not part of the investigation, said in a separate People interview that Hackman or Arakawa may have died of a broken heart.
He suggested that Hackman could have found Arakawa "and was going out to get help or get his phone, and he then collapsed from the stress of that...He's older, he's got known heart disease. But the autopsy would certainly show if she had heart disease or cancer or what have you."
"Kind of a broken heart-type thing, almost," he said.
Gill also theorized that the two-time Oscar winner "may have collapsed. He's got a history of heart disease. He's got a pacemaker. So that would not be unusual. But the unusual part is that why then did she also collapse? Assuming she would've found him," he said. "Then you start wondering about: There is this thing where the stress of seeing someone die that could have triggered a natural death in her."
"Suddenly finding your loved one dead on the floor that can increase your adrenaline and that stimulates your heart to beat faster, and that can put your heart into an irregular rhythm."
Santa Fe Fire Chief Brian Moya told Fox News Digital it's likely they died in a "similar timeframe."
This afternoon, Mendoza will be sharing further updates in a joint press conference with the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator and the New Mexico Department of Health. It will be available to stream at 4 p.m. ET on the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Facebook page.
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