Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their Santa Fe, New Mexico home

Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa’s deaths continue to puzzle authorities, but a new update from the Santa Fe fire chief sheds new light on the mystery.

The two-time Oscar-winning actor, 95, was found dead in his Santa Fe, New Mexico home, along with his wife, 63, and one of their dogs, 12-year-old Zinna.

Gene’s pacemaker stopped working on February 17th, leading medical experts to determine that date as the time of his death, but now the fire chief explained they could have died at “a similar timeframe”.

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The fire chief stated: “Just because both bodies were in similar ways where we, as experts, sad to say that we know a lot about how people die and how long people are dead for – both bodies are in a similar manner that it could be a similar timeframe.”

He also clarified that the fire department had never been called to the couple’s home before and that they were last involved in the case on February 27th.

Betsy was found on the floor of the bathroom, beside a space heater and a bottle of prescription pills that were strewn over a countertop.

Gene was found in an adjacent room with his pacemaker still functioning on February 17th, with police saying said it is a “reasonable assumption” that Gene died when his pacemaker had its “last event”.

While their German Shepherd, Zinna also died alongside them, their other two pet dogs were found alive.

A leading theory to explain the couple’s death was a ‘suicide pact’, but it is one that was thoroughly dismissed by Connecticut’s Chief Medical Examiner.

Speaking to People, James Gill said: “I’ve seen cases like that – usually they’re together in bed. The fact that they’re in two separate locations tells me that I think that’s less likely.”

nstead, James suggested that Gene may have collapsed, ultimately leading to the situation a wellness check later found the pair in.

He contunued: “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.”