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Oscar-winner Gene Hackman, his wife and one of their dogs were apparently dead for some time before a maintenance worker discovered their bodies at the couple's home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, investigators said.

Investigators have not yet determined whether Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 65, died at the same time.

"It appears (to be) several days, possibly even up to a couple of weeks," Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza told NBC's Today Show on Friday morning.

READ MORE: Vatican makes new plans for Ash Wednesday amid Pope's pneumonia battle

The bodies were found on Wednesday. Denise Avila, a sheriff's office spokesperson, said there was no indication they had been shot or had any wounds that would indicate foul play.

But Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office detectives wrote in a search warrant affidavit investigators thought the deaths were "suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation".

According to the search warrant affidavit, a maintenance worker reported that the home's front door was open when he arrived to do routine work Wednesday, and he called police after finding the bodies.

"No, dude, they're not moving. Just send somebody out here really quick," the caller said.

Police responded to the call and discovered Arakawa's body on the ground inside a bathroom next to an orange prescription pill bottle with scattered pills on the floor, the affidavit says.

The body "showed obvious signs of death, body decomposition, bloating in her face and mumification (sic) in both hands and feet," the affidavit states.

Arakawa, was lying on her right side in the bathroom. A space heater was next to her head and may have fallen when she abruptly dropped to the floor, according to the affidavit.

Hackman's body was then found on the ground near the kitchen in a similar condition, with a walking cane and sunglasses next to the body. The deputy suspected he had suddenly fallen, the affidavit says.

A German shepherd dog was also found dead in the bathroom. The dog was in a crate, police have clarified; the affidavit says the dog was in a closet. Two healthy dogs were found on the property.

The maintenance workers told police they had not been in touch with the homeowners for two weeks, the affidavit says.

The sheriff's office planned a Friday afternoon news conference to provide updates on the case.

"There was no indication of a struggle," Mendoza said previously.

"There was no indication of anything that was missing from the home or disturbed, you know, that would be indication that there was a crime that had occurred."

Results of autopsies conducted on both bodies are not available yet, sheriff's officials said, noting that carbon monoxide and toxicology test results are pending.

The search warrant affidavit suggests that police appear to have a working theory that "some kind of gas poisoning" happened, but that they don't know yet and aren't ruling anything out, Loyola Marymount University law professor Laurie Levenson said.

"They don't have clear evidence that it's any type of homicide, but they're asking for blunt instruments or other weapons that could be used," said Levenson, who has no connection to the investigation. "It doesn't also look like some kind of planned double-suicide."

William & Mary Law School professor Jeffrey Bellin said the request for a search warrant was somewhat unusual because investigators who file one usually believe a specific crime was committed. In this case, no alleged crime was mentioned, Bellin said.

Police tend to overstate what they know, but this is the opposite, said Bellin, who also isn't tied to the investigation.

"It just struck me as very careful in a way that search warrant affidavits often are not," he said.

The New Mexico Gas Co. tested the gas lines in and around the home after the bodies were discovered, according to the warrant.

At the time, it didn't find any signs of problems and the Fire Department found no signs of a carbon monoxide leak or poisoning.

A detective wrote that there were no obvious signs of a gas leak, but he noted that people exposed to gas leaks or carbon monoxide might not show signs of poisoning.

The gruff but beloved Hackman was among the most accomplished actors of his generation, appearing as villains, heroes and antiheroes in dozens of dramas, comedies and action films from the 1960s until his retirement in the early 2000s.

"He was loved and admired by millions around the world for his brilliant acting career, but to us he was always just Dad and Grandpa," his daughters and granddaughter said in a statement Thursday.

"We will miss him sorely and are devastated by the loss."

– Reported with Associated Press and CNN.

Pope Francis reached the two-week mark in his recovery from pneumonia on Friday as doctors suggested he had overcome the most critical phase of the infection but held out on declaring him out of danger entirely.

The Vatican, though, made alternative plans for Ash Wednesday next week, making clear Francis still had a long road ahead.

Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, a Vatican official and former vicar of Rome, will preside over the March 5 ceremony and procession that inaugurates the church's solemn Lenten season leading up to Easter in April.

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The Vatican's early Friday update suggested a level of normalcy and routine as the 88-year-old pope continues recovering at Rome's Gemelli Hospital.

"As in past days, the night was tranquil and the pope now is resting," it said.

Francis had breakfast, read the day's newspapers and was receiving respiratory physiotherapy, the Vatican said.

In their Thursday evening bulletin, doctors said Francis' clinical condition had confirmed that he was improving.

He was alternating the high-flow supplemental oxygen he had been receiving by a nasal tube with a mask in a sign of improved respiratory function.

Additionally, he left his hospital room to go to his nearby private chapel to pray, while continuing with respiratory physiotherapy and work, the Vatican said.

For the second day in a row, doctors avoided saying Francis was in critical condition, suggesting he had overcome the most acute phase of the infection. But given the complexity of his lung infection, they said "further days of clinical stability are needed" before they revise their prognosis officially and say he is out of danger.

Francis has been at Gemelli Hospital since February 14 after his bronchitis worsened.

He has shown steady, albeit slight, improvements since a respiratory crisis and kidney trouble over the weekend sparked fears for his life.

The improvements beat back speculation of an imminent death or resignation and signalled that he was still very much in charge.

Prayers continued to pour in

In Mexico City, a few dozen people gathered on Thursday night at the cathedral to pray for Francis' recovery.

"He is like part of the family," said Araceli Gutiérrez, who treasures the time she saw the pope during his trip to the country of nearly 100 million Catholics in 2016.

"That's why we feel so concerned for him."

María Teresa Sánchez, who was visiting from Colombia with her sister, said that she has always felt close to Francis — the first Latin American pope.

"That's like having a relative within the higher-ups, with God," she said. "He has done so much for religion; he's such a humble person."

Upcoming calendar in question

Despite his improvements, Francis' near-term upcoming calendar of events was being changed: The Vatican cancelled a Holy Year audience scheduled for Saturday, and it remained to be seen if Francis would skip his Sunday noon blessing for the third week in a row.

With Ash Wednesday now delegated to a cardinal, the next major events come during Holy Week and Easter, which this year falls on April 20.

In past years, when Francis has battled bronchitis and influenza in winter, he curbed his participation in Ash Wednesday and Holy Week events, which call for the pope to be outdoors in the cold leading services, participating in processions and presiding over prayers in the solemn period in which the faithful commemorate Christ's crucifixion and resurrection.

Beyond that, Francis has a few major events coming up that he presumably would hope to keep if well enough. On April 27, he is due to canonize Carlo Acutis, considered to be the first millennial and digital-era saint. The Vatican considers the Italian teenager, who died of leukemia in 2006 at the age of 15, an inspiration for young Catholics.

Another important appointment is the May 24 commemoration of the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea, Christianity's first ecumenical council.

The spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, Patriarch Bartholomew I, has invited Francis to join him in Iznik, Turkey, to commemorate the anniversary, which he has called an important sign of reconciliation between the Catholic and Orthodox churches. Before he got sick, Francis said he hoped to go, though the Vatican hasn't confirmed the trip.

A Dianella man who sprayed antisemitic messages across three Perth suburbs has been warned he'll likely face a jail term.

Damian Joshua Arkeveld today pleaded guilty to the racially motivated crime after some of his charges were downgraded.

In five graffiti attacks in just eight hours, from Dalkeith to Dianella, antisemitic messages and swastikas were scrawled across a wall, signs and two bus stops earlier this month.

READ MORE: CCTV captures the moment shoppers threatened with machete

Arkeveld admitted he was the man responsible, but only after four of his charges were downgraded.

The Dalkeith graffiti is now the only damage considered racially aggravated in a way police say showed hostility to the WA Jewish community.

The court heard allegations his co-accused Justin Charles Robinson was his driver.

Robinson is out on bail and yet to plead to the charges.

Arkeveld's lawyer, Jack Hudson, said the 27-year-old had no ties to white supremacists and "sincerely and unequivocally apologises for the hurt and anguish" caused to the community.

The defence also argued for a community based order instead of jail time saying Damian Arkeveld was extremely intoxicated on the night and struggled with alcoholism and ADHD.

The magistrate has warned Arkeveld he will likely face a prison term when he sentenced next month.

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ACT police are appealing for witnesses to help identify a man and a woman after the man allegedly threatened people with a machete.

Police were called to the Canberra Outlet Centre in Fyshwick about 3.15pm yesterday after reports of a disturbance.

CCTV footage obtained by 9News showed the moment the man was confronted by a member of the public after he had allegedly stolen a pair of shoes.

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When confronted, the man pulled out a machete before gesturing at shopping centre staff and members of the public.

The pair fled the centre immediately after the confrontation, police said.

Nobody was physically injured in the incident.

ACT police have encouraged witnesses to come forward in the hopes of identifying the pair.

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A 24-year-old man allegedly assaulted a woman after fleeing the scene of an attempted carjacking at a car wash in Melbourne's south-east yesterday.

The man has since been charged with several offences including aggravated assault and resisting arrest and two counts of attempted carjacking.

Police allege the man threatened several people near a car wash on the corner of Cranbourne Road and Lindrum Road in Frankston about 11am.

READ MORE: Actor Gene Hackman, wife Betsy Arakawa, dead for some time police say

Vision caught the moment the man allegedly ambushed the woman, who was vacuuming her car, before throwing a punch and chasing her as she tried to return to her vehicle.

When another man, believed to be the car wash attendant, came to the woman's aid, the alleged offender fled on foot.

The same man allegedly assaulted another woman at a nearby shop, where he also demanded the keys to her car.

She was treated for minor injuries.

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The man was arrested in dramatic scenes at a bus stop a short time later, where he was surrounded by about a dozen police officers.

He was remanded to appear at Melbourne Magistrates' on 28 February.

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