Here's my new guess:
Gene passed away naturally several days ago
Wife killed herself immediately after finding him
Dog starved since nobody was there to feed it
OR
Dog died from eating the pills (or something else dangerous that a dog would otherwise avoid) once starvation started to kick in
OR
Dog died b/c it needs daily meds to survive & nobody was there to administer them

et98 said:

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Here's my new guess:
Gene passed away naturally several days ago
Wife killed herself immediately after finding him
Dog starved since nobody was there to feed it
OR
Dog died from eating the pills (or something else dangerous that a dog would otherwise avoid) once starvation started to kick in
OR
Dog died b/c it needs daily meds to survive & nobody was there to administer them

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This is basically my guess except I think the wife gave the dog pills before taking her own life because she knew it would be a few days before they were discovered and she didn't want the dog to starve to death.

Sea Speed said:

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ElephantRider said:

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My dog could find a fragment of a pill in a whole jar of peanut butter and manage to spit it out

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Exactly. I have to practically wire his jaw shut until he has no choice but to swallow it.

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We have that rare dog that loves pill time every month. Wrap in cheese and she's good to go!

Furlock Bones said:

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welp, it's time to fire up my favorite Wes Anderson film.

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Also my favorite

https://apnews.com/article/gene-hackman-found-dead-f6c106e92987aeaaab7b35c1b956a5c8

Dead for some time, found in different rooms. 1 dog dead, 2 others alive. Bottle of prescription pills found open and spilled around the wife.

My speculation:

I'm guessing wife died first, dog ate some of the pills that spilled and maybe Gene died of a heart attack after finding them (it appeared he fell and was in a mud room - possibly heading out for help?)

What's the o/u on the Netflix true crime doc?

Ugh....one of my favorites. I'd watch anything he was in.

I'm going to watch Narrow Margin tonight

My wife and I are out eating lunch. I read her your post about the cat.

She spit out her tea from laughing.

javajaws said:

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https://apnews.com/article/gene-hackman-found-dead-f6c106e92987aeaaab7b35c1b956a5c8

Dead for some time, found in different rooms. 1 dog dead, 2 others alive. Bottle of prescription pills found open and spilled around the wife.

My speculation:

I'm guessing wife died first, dog ate some of the pills that spilled and maybe Gene died of a heart attack after finding them (it appeared he fell and was in a mud room - possibly heading out for help?)

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Not bad…here's mine: Gene died in the mudroom of natural causes. The wife got so distressed, she commits suicide by taking handfuls of pills. The dog died, locked in a crate, probably due to dehydration.

You heard it here first.

Ervin Burrell said:

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Maybe I'm just a heartless dick but I don't see how anybody could take a 95-year old's passing so traumatically that they resort to suicide. You had to know it was coming any day, and it was a helluva run/life up to that point.

If anything, maybe it's the reverse...she died and he's so frail and maybe out of it mentally that he died 2 - 3 days later.

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Possibly. Either way, rich people shouldn't die this way.

bonfarr said:

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The fact that the wife's body showed signs of decomposition and mummification and there are no reports of Hackman's body showing similar signs throws out my original theory of Carbon Monoxide poisoning or the wife committing suicide upon finding her husband dead.

Now I am assuming the wife and dog died , possibly suicide, and Hackman wandered around in a state of confusion and dementia for days and died of a fall or starvation or something.

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I've read multiple articles now that state the local authorities/gas companies have ruled out a gas leak.

As of now, this would seem to make the most sense. That said, he was apparently still pretty sharp, mentally, as people in town would see him out and about. Then again, that information could be a couple years old, and maybe dementia came fast, in the last year or so, who knows.

TCTTS said:

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As of now, this would seem to make the most sense. That said, he was apparently still pretty sharp, mentally, as people in town would see him out and about. Then again, that information could be a couple years old, and maybe dementia came fast, in the last year or so, who knows.

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Wonder if he went downhill mentally and she couldn't take being the caregiver anymore so opted out. Although why wouldn't she just leave if that was the case.

This is from last year. Man, he looks old, but still seems mobile/functional, coffee in-hand, etc...

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-13285151/gene-hackman-new-mexico-gas-station-wife-spotted.html

Yeah, so hard to say.

TMZ reported that neither Gene nor his wife had been seen around town since March of 2024.

Wow.

The other dogs still alive on scene. One outside, but one inside. Confusing.

Also seeing reports that Hackman did have similar levels of mummification as his wife. That would make no sense. Who was feeding the other dogs?

Case now under inquiry and deaths have been ruled suspicious.

Here is another wild ass guess:
He has dementia and has become uncharacteristically angry, argumentative, & combative as a result. An argument in the mud room resulted in some shoving that ended with him falling and dying.

Due to the shock & sadness of losing her primary loved one & sense of purpose, or guilt/remorse from "causing" his death, she committed suicide. She may have even been scared that she'd be accused of murdering him. Regardless, she wasn't thinking clearly which is understandable.

The dead dog was reportably found in a closet. At first I thought that was weird, but it was probably a small room where they keep the dog crates. I'm guessing the dead dog was crated while the other two were not.

Water from toilets, sure. But where were the other dogs getting food? That's my big question. One of them was apparently found outside.

Waiting on a Natty said:

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TMZ reported that neither Gene nor his wife had been seen around town since March of 2024.

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That Daily Mail article was published in April 2024. That might have been the last sighting of them.

Maybe the other dogs were being fed by Gene and his wife.

Do you know what I mean?