Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa appeared to have been deceased for “quite a while” before two maintenance workers stumbled upon their bodies at their New Mexico home.
Officials revealed that the two workers hadn’t seen the legendary actor, 95, and his 65-year-old classical pianist wife for about two weeks until the startling discovery on Wednesday, February 26.
Highlights
- Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa appeared to have been deceased for “quite a while” before their bodies were found.
- A frantic 911 caller said he couldn’t get inside but could see the bodies.
- “I can’t go in, but I see them … She’s laying down from the window,” the caller said.
- Hackman, Arakawa, and their deceased dog were found in three different locations of their home in Santa Fe.
Due to the strange circumstances surrounding their death, investigators are “keeping everything on the table,” Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said.
Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa appeared to have been deceased for “quite a while” before their bodies were found
Image credits: Donaldson Collection/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Hackman, Arakawa, and their deceased dog were found in three different locations of their home in Santa Fe.
Signs of mummification were seen on Arakawa’s body by then.
Before responding officers arrived at the scene, a frantic 911 caller said he couldn’t get inside but could see the bodies.
“I’m not inside the house. It’s closed. It’s locked,” said the caller, who identified himself as the subdivision's caretaker. “I can’t go in, but I see them. ... She’s laying down from the window.”
Image credits: Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection
“Dude, they’re not moving,” he told the dispatcher. “Just send somebody out here really quick.”
Responding officers arrived to find the Oscar-winning actor lying in a mudroom near the kitchen, while his wife was found deceased on the bathroom floor.
An opened prescription bottle was found on the bathroom counter, with pills scattered around.
“Dude, they’re not moving,” the frantic 911 caller told the dispatcher
Image credits: Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection/Getty Images
Arakawa may have dropped abruptly to the floor, which may have caused a space heater to fall and land next to her as well.
Hackman also appeared to have fallen, and a cane was found next to him.
Their German shepherd was found lifeless about 10 to 15 feet from Arakawa in a crate or a kennel, Mendoza revealed.
The 95-year-old actor, his wife, and their German shepherd were found in three different locations inside their Santa Fe home
Image credits: Sipa USA
Two other dogs were found alive and healthy on the property: one was found roaming around outside, and the other was in the bathroom next to the pianist.
Arakawa’s body showed “obvious signs of death” and “body decomposition.”
Deputies noted “bloating in her face” and “mummification in both hands and feet,” which suggested she had been “dead for some time,” according to reports.
Signs of “body decomposition” and “mummification” were found on the classical pianist’s body
Image credits: Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection/Getty Images
The “circumstances” around the couple’s mysterious deaths were “suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation,” Det. Roy Arndt said in an application for a search warrant.
Initial autopsy findings showed “no external trauma” to either of the two. However, official carbon monoxide and toxicology test results are still pending, the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office said Thursday.
The cause of death is yet to be determined.
Image credits: National Archives Catalog
Chris Ramirez, spokesperson for the New Mexico medical investigator’s office, said it normally takes “anywhere from four to six weeks to generate” for the release of the medical examiner’s reports with the final cause of death.
“We want to make sure that we get the investigation completed properly,” Mendoza said Thursday. “And we want to release the proper information.”
The sheriff revealed that there were no signs of a “struggle” inside the house.
There was also no indication of any items missing from the house or being disturbed to suggest a crime having occurred on the property.
The couple’s deaths were “suspicious enough” for a “search and investigation”
Image credits: Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection
Hackman’s youngest daughter, Leslie Anne Hackman, 58, said she “hadn’t talked” to him or her stepmother for “couple of months” before their bodies were discovered. She, however, said her father was “in very good physical condition.”
She revealed he liked to do pilates and yoga several times a week and was in “good health.” However, his death was “not terribly shocking because he was 95,” she told the Daily Mail.
The French Connection actor married his second wife, Arakawa, in 1991. He married first wife Faye Maltese in 1956 and welcomed three children—Christopher, 65, Elizabeth, 63, and Leslie, 58— with her before their divorce after 30 years of marriage.
Image credits: Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection
Daughter Elizabeth told TMZ that the family suspects they were victims of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Hackman was “loved and admired by millions around the world for his brilliant acting career, but to us he was always just Dad and Grandpa,” the family said in a statement Thursday.
“We will miss him sorely and are devastated by the loss,” the family said following their deaths
Image credits: Law&Crime Network
Hackman and Arakawa were leading a fairly private life in New Mexico before their deaths.
The actor made what was believed to be his first public outing in 21 years last April.
“Good to see he is still there. Ageing graceful[ly] too,” a fan said at the time, while another wrote, “Wow! He looks great at 94 & living a simple life with his wife.”
“Seems like she died first and maybe due to dementia he couldn’t call for anyone,” a social media user speculated
