Gene Hackman's daughter made a heartfelt request to the police after they discovered her father's body, newly released bodycam footage has shown.
The famous actor, 95, was found dead at his home in Santa Fe last month (26 February) along with his wife Betsy Arakawa.
Hackman is thought to have died on 18 February from cardiovascular disease, with officials saying it's possible that he didn't know his wife had already died as Alzheimer's disease was listed as a significant contributory factor.
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New Mexico's chief medical examiner Dr Heather Jarrell said at a press conference: "He had significant heart disease, and I think ultimately that is what resulted in his death.
"Mr Hackman's initial pacemaker data revealed cardiac activity on 17 February, with subsequent pacemaker interrogation demonstrating an abnormal rhythm of atrial fibrillation on 18 February, which was the last record of heart activity.
"Based on this information, it is reasonable to conclude that Mr Hackman probably died around 18 February."
Arakawa, 65, was initially thought to have died a week earlier on 11 February, but phone records indicate that she made a call to a medical concierge on the morning of 12 February and did not respond when they called her back later in the day.
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The classical pianist is thought to have died of something called hantavirus pulmonary syndrome.
Also found dead at the Santa Fe house was one of the couple's three dogs, an Australian kelpie mix named Zinna, with the pet pooch's death put down to dehydration and starvation.
In bodycam footage obtained by TMZ, a phone call between officers and Hackman's daughter Elizabeth had her making a request of the police.
"Yeah, I’m thinking cremate the dog and bury it with Betsy," she was heard to say in the footage, before asking for something.
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"If the dog was wearing a collar could you save that for me?"
The couple's other two dogs, Bear and Nikita, were alive when police entered the property and helped guide officers towards the bodies of Hackman and Arakawa.
The surviving dogs are being looked after by family friend Joey Padilla, who owns a local pet care and training facility and described the animals as 'Betsy's babies'.
He said that Zinna was 'always attached at the hip' with Arakawa and there was a 'beautiful relationship' between dog and human there.
"Zinna went from being a returned shelter dog to this incredible companion under Betsy’s hand," Padilla explained, and he will be taking care of the remaining two dogs until he learns what Arakawa wanted for them.
Topics: Gene Hackman, Celebrity, Dogs
Joe Harker