Gene Hackman’s nephew says family awaiting toxicology report

The nephew of Gene Hackman has impressed upon the fact that “negative theories” are more hinderance than help in the wake of the iconic actor’s death.

Hackman and his wife, classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, were found dead at their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico last Wednesday, February 26, sending shock waves around the entertainment industry.

It was initially reported that the no foul play was suspected in the deaths, but it’s since been determined that there is enough suspicion to warrant a full investigation.

Needless to say, theories have been spreading online in the week since the bodies of Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 63, were found, ranging from the controversial to the downright bizarre. Fellow actor Randy Quaid took to X to share his view earlier this week, going so far as to speculate that Hackman and his wife had been “murdered.”

Quaid wrote: “Gene Hackman and his wife are murder victims, some scum bags did it and staged it. Stop talking about the films he is in, this is how they get away with murdering famous people!“

In the days following the discovery of the bodies, Hackman’s daughter, Elizabeth Jean Hackman, shared in an interview with TMZ that the family wasn’t entirely sure what led to the deaths, but that they suspected carbon monoxide poisoning could be to blame.

“The house is fairly modern, built in 2000,” Elizabeth explained, “but we don’t know if there were any issues with gas leaks or if there were any recent service calls to the property.”

Yet as part of the investigation into the deaths, Santa Fe City Fire department have seemingly ruled out carbon monoxide leak or poisoning as they found no signs present at the home.

It’s reported that the New Mexico Gas Company also found no signs of this after carrying out tests on the gas line and around the residence.

With the rumor mill churning and fans of Hackman desperate to know what befell the actor and his wife, his nephew, Tim Hackman, has stressed that his loved ones don’t want to “speculate” on what caused the tragedy.

Speaking to Us Weekly, Tim said: “We’re waiting on toxicology. That will tell us everything. It’s hard to theorise. There are lots of theories out there and I don’t want to speculate. It’s easy to speculate negative theories.”

He continued: “The family wants to keep it positive for now and when we know the truth we will deal with it.”

Tim did admit that the family have been left with a number of questions given the state of Hackman and Arakawa’s bodies. Reports detail that they were partially mummified.

Tim said: “My uncle was 95 years old at an age where you think about, ‘Okay, it’s time’. But from the circumstances now things have changed a bit. It’s a major change.”

Rest in peace, Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa.