The silent killer. The invisible enemy. The stealth assassin.
Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning has earned these eerie nicknames and was briefly suspected to be responsible for the deaths of acting legend Gene Hackman, his wife, the classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, and their dog.
The late actor’s daughter Elizabeth Jean Hackman said early Thursday that deputies initially suspected CO poisoning to be their cause of death, though further investigation of the home found no gas leaks.
While the search warrant affidavit states that ‘there are no signs or evidence indicating there were any problems associated to the pipes in and around the residence,’ Mr Hackman’s daughter said that police have not ruled anything out.
Unlike natural gas, CO is colorless, odorless, and tasteless, making it impossible to detect without a specialized device.
Inhaling the toxic gas from myriad sources including generators, water heaters, and gas stoves can prove fatal within minutes, entering the lungs and diffusing into the bloodstream. It replaces oxygen in the blood, preventing it from reaching tissues and organs, including the heart.
The body goes into hypoxia, the state of lacking oxygen. The heart and brain are affected first, as they demand the most oxygen out of every organ and bodily tissue. Without oxygen, brain cells shrivel and die within minutes.
To compensate for the lack of a steady oxygen supply, the heart beats faster to get what it needs. Chest pains and shortness of breath take over until the heart eventually gives out, crushed by the overwork.
Officers found Hackman, 95, Arakawa, 64, and the pet dead when they performed a welfare check at their Santa Fe home around 1:45pm on Feb 26
Carbon monoxide is produced when fossil fuels burn without enough oxygen. This can occur via household appliances that run on gas as well as fires and clogged flues
Mr Hackman’s death is still shrouded in mystery, and details continue to emerge.
Ms Arakawa was discovered in a bathroom near a slightly open front door, lying deceased on the floor next to a space heater. The counter was covered in pills that had spilled from an open orange cannister.
In a bathroom closet lay one of the couple’s three dogs, a German Shepherd.
Mr Hackman, meanwhile, was discovered lying dead on the ground next to his walking cane in the mudroom adjacent to the kitchen.
Elizabeth Jean Hackman said that Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza and his deputies haven’t ruled anything out and are still investigating.
Several studies suggest that the majority of CO poisoning-deaths are intentional acts of suicide.
One in 2017 estimated that there are approximately 15,000 intentional CO poisonings annually, which account for over two-thirds of reported deaths.
Another report published in 2016, after analyzing the cause of death records and forensic investigations, said that from 1999 to 2014, there were 24,890 total CO poisoning deaths, of which 18,231 (73 percent) were intentional, and 6,653 (27 percent) were accidental.
Occupational safety expert Shawn Galloway told DailyMail.com, though, not to underestimate the proportion of accidental deaths, solid numbers for which can be hard to pin down.
Some accidental CO deaths might be mistaken for other causes, such as heart attacks, cardiac arrest, or fatal falls.
The couple were found alongside their dog in their Santa Fe home on Wednesday morning. No foul play is suspected and it is unclear whether the cause was an accidental carbon monoxide leak
Initial symptoms after just a few hours of low-level exposure tend to resemble those of the flu, but ontinued exposure can lead to enduring memory loss and confusion as well as mood changes
Symptoms can be easily chalked up to something else and dismissed, likely prolonging exposure to the noxious gas.
Mr Galloway said: ‘Some of the initial symptoms are just a slight headache; you could feel a little foggy with a little confusion.
You could feel a little weak, but think about just you didn’t get enough sleep at night, or you just feel kind of crummy, but it could go all the way to the extreme of seizures, chest pain, the fogginess could lead to difficulty in moving, walking.
‘Odorless and colorless, that’s what makes it such a challenge [to identify].’
The gas can be emitted by gas stoves, currently in use in roughly 40 million American households.
A CO detector is essential for quickly identifying dangerous levels of carbon monoxide in the air, providing an early warning to prevent poisoning and potentially fatal outcomes
Mr Galloway, a resident of hurricane-prone Houston, said emergency generators that rely on gas also pose poisoning risks. Most water heaters are gas-fueled, he added.
CO poisoning leaves very little lead time to get help when exposure occurs, either intentionally or accidentally.
When CO binds to hemoglobin, the protein to red blood cells that carry oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body, the organs and tissues begin to suffocate.
Without oxygen, cells resort to producing lactic acid to produce energy, leading to a build-up of acid in the blood.
Even a small amount of CO exposure displaces oxygen within minutes, leading to confusion and loss of consciousness. CO also takes a long time to clear from the blood, meaning that even when it is cut off, it can continue blocking oxygen.
If not fatal, CO poisoning can lead to memory problems, confusion, and coma. It also drastically increases one’s risk of heart attack.
It could take four to six weeks for an autopsy report to be completed and made public. Until then, the public will have to rely on speculation and insight from the actor’s loved ones.
