Gene Hackman’s neighbours have expressed their astonishment at  how little they knew about the secretive Hollywood icon and his wife Betsy Arakawa, even after years of residing in close proximit.

The couple was found in a partially mummified state at their mansion, amid a scene of scattered pills in their bathroom.

As police delve into the enigmatic circumstances of the deaths, which sadly included their pet dog, Gene’s fame from yesteryear is a stark contrast to the withdrawn lifestyle he led with Betsy in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

In the wake of the ongoing investigation, residents have been asked to provide any insights into the pair. Surprisingly, many realised their knowledge of the private pair was minimal, as the couple was notoriously self-contained, reports The Mirror.

Even within their secluded gated community near Santa Fe, fleeting glimpses of the famed duo were rare. James Everett, who owned a house next door for approximately five years, shared: “They have a gate, and we have a gate, and we just have never even seen each other.”

Harvey Chalker, another long-established neighbour, stated to the New York Times: “He wanted to be quiet, he didn’t want to be bothered, and I don’t blame him.”

Bud Hamilton, adjacent to the Hackmans for nearly two decades, confessed that despite being neighbours, he and his wife had only socialised with the Hackmans once over 20 years. Beau Theriot, an occasional visitor to his local residence, commented: “I know there’s some nice people up there, I just don’t know them.”

A top forensic expert has put forth a chilling theory on what might have led to the death of famed Hollywood actor Gene and his spouse Betsy. Police earlier confirmed they had extracted crucial pacemaker data from the late Gene, pinpointing the final incident on February 17 – which was a significant nine days prior to the discovery of their remains.

Dr Michael Baden shared insights on Fox News, suggesting that Gene’s pacemaker could hold the key to the enigmatic demise of the ‘Unforgiven’ icon. “That event would have been a cardiac arrest caused by an abnormal pulse rate,” he explained.

“The pacemaker keeps track of the pulse, and when it gets down too low, it discharges. And that’s all in the record.”

He remarked further: “So the autopsy showed he didn’t have any injury. There was no carbon monoxide. And he had – the most common cause of death in this country – severe heart disease, coronary artery disease and high blood pressure perhaps, from what’s been released. So that would cause him, having cardiac arrest in the mudroom, to collapse right there.”

Baden went on to conjecture that Betsy’s death may have occurred whilst she attempted to aid her partner. “His wife was found in the bathroom,” divulged Baden.

“They haven’t released the information about her findings, except that she did not have carbon monoxide in her, and that what appears to be from the scene and from what’s been said is that she found her husband in the mudroom.”

If Betsy had gone into the bathroom to get her husband’s blood pressure tablets, she could have tumbled and scattered the medication.

“She may have struck her head on the way down and had some internal injury to the brain that doesn’t show up on the outside or bleeding in the inside of the brain,” he explained, adding, “Or that she may also, at 65, had severe heart disease and excitement can cause a trigger to the cardiac rhythm causing death under those circumstances. I think the first, that striking her head would be more common.”

Regarding their dog, found lifeless in the bedroom closet a distance away, Michael suggested that the family pet might have perished from dehydration during the nine-day ordeal.