Sheriff Adan Mendoza told TMZ that the couple had been dead for “at least a day,” and their cause of death was still unable to be determined. Although, he noted that while no visible trauma was indicated on their bodies, the pair could’ve been victims of  “a double homicide, suicide, accidental death or natural causes.”

Meanwhile, Gene’s daughter Elizabeth Jean Hackman—whom he shared, along with son Christopher and daughter Leslie, with first wife Faye Maltese—told the outlet the family is still unsure of what could’ve caused her father’s death, but believe it might be from toxic fumes.

Aside from the rare photographed outing, Gene and Betsy had largely stepped away from the limelight following Gene’s last performance in 2004’s Welcome to Mooseport. Indeed, Gene—who accrued two Academy Awards for his performances in The French Connection and Unforgiven, as well as three additional nominations—was vocal about his dislike for the public aspects of his profession. 

“My least favorite thing in the business is having my still photograph taken and doing interviews about films or about my work. It's very wearying, and I do very little of that anymore,” he said to All About Actors in 1992, adding of movies, “I just do them, and then I walk away, although sometimes I do publicity for them. But most times, I try not to.”

Keep reading for a look at Gene’s life in photos… 

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