Trigger Warning: This article contains mention of death.

Gene Hackman, his wife, and his dog were found dead in their New Mexico home. The sheriff of the area revealed in his statements to the media portal that the couple and their pet had been lying unconscious since the day before the police officials arrived on Wednesday.

The sheriff, Adam Mendoza, also revealed that the authorities could not identify the deceased until 12:30 a.m. on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the investigators of the deaths of three revealed that while initial foul play was not implied, they have not completely ruled out the suspicion. Moreover, the officials claimed that the deaths could have been caused by carbon monoxide poisoning. 

When the bodies of the actor, his wife, and his dog were found, there were no signs of gas leaks, but the investigators stated that it would have happened because the time of death and the time of identification of the bodies differ, which causes the diffusion of the gas. 

Meanwhile, in conversation with Today, the Santa Fe sheriff revealed,  “Just based on their body and other evidence on the body, it appears several days and possibly up to a couple weeks.”

The sheriff went on to reveal that the doors of the late couple’s home were found unlocked except for the one door through which Hackman and his wife entered the house. 

Sheriff Adam Mendoza continued, “That’s obviously very important evidence at the scene.”

He added, “That information was collected, that information was passed to the office of the medical investigator to help them make a determination. So we’re looking at that specifically and other medications that were possibly in the residence. So that is something of concern.”

Moreover, the late actor’s daughter, Leslie, shared that her father had no terminal illness and was healthy at the time of his passing. She also claimed that The French Connection star would have a healthy diet and an exercise regime.