Fans of classic films were left saddened last month when Hollywood legend Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were both found dead in their New Mexico home.

Fox News reported this week that while authorities initially believed Arakawa passed away on February 11, new cellphone data appears to contradict the theory. 

Former FBI investigator says phone data will provide important clues

According to the network, the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office announced on Monday that multiple calls were made using Arakawa's phone on February 12.

Bill Daly is a former FBI investigator, and he told Fox News that there may have initially been challenges in extracting information from the device.

However, he indicated that the newly acquired information could provide valuable insight, including "when the last calls were made, what text messages were there" and if the phone had been moved.

"The analytics within the cellphone could maybe determine even further if there was any slight movement," Daly was quoted as saying.

Three calls were made to a medical center on February 12

"That's been something that's been used in several investigations, including some murder cases where they were able to kind of determine the more specific time of death is when the phones stop moving in the deceased," he explained.

"I think probably what we're seeing here is either it took a while to get into the phones and get some of those analytics analyzed, and it also could be the fact that the pathologist who are working with deceased people for several weeks and put the time of death on the 11th of February, whereas now they are making a call on at least the morning of the 12th," the former investigator noted.

The Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office confirmed to Fox News that "a total of three calls were made" on February 12 to "a medical center in Santa Fe, Cloudberry Health."

"One incoming call was made to Mrs. Hackman from the same medical center that afternoon. That appeared as a missed call on Mrs. Hackman’s cellphone," the law enforcement agency stated.

Evidence suggests Hackman died on February 18

The Associated Press reported last week that the 65-year-old Arakawa apparently died due to symptoms brought on by hantavirus, a relatively rare illness spread by rodent excrement.

For his part, Hackman died at some point later as a result of heart failure, with his pacemaker last showing signs of activity on February 18.

The 95-year-old actor had been struggling for some time with Alzheimer’s disease and may not have realized that his wife was no longer alive.

"He was in a very poor state of health," medical investigator Dr. Heather Jarrell said of Hackman. "He had significant heart disease, and I think ultimately that’s what resulted in his death. It's quite possible he was not aware she was deceased."