Gene Hackman likely dead over a week before found; pills are ‘important evidence’, sheriff says
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Actor Gene Hackman was likely dead for nine days before he and his wife’s body were discovered at their Santa Fe, N.M., home earlier this week.
The Oscar winner and wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead with one of the family’s three dogs by maintenance workers on Wednesday. Authorities said there were no obvious signs of foul play but that the circumstances of their deaths were suspicious and warranted further investigation.
Santa Fe Sheriff County Adan Mendoza said at a news conference Friday that Feb. 17 was the last day Hackman’s pacemaker showed activity and “a very good assumption that it was his last day of life.”
Initial autopsy results ruled out carbon monoxide poisoning and found no signs of blunt force trauma on the couple’s bodies, he said.
The medical examiner will make a ruling on the official cause of death after receiving full toxicology and autopsy results — a process that Mendoza said could take months.
Investigators are looking at pills found at the scene and the couple’s cellphones to piece together the last days of their lives.
“We’ll be analyzing cellphone data, phone calls, text messages, events, photos in the cellphone, to try to piece a timeline together,” Mendoza said.
Investigators removed two phones, blood pressure and thyroid medications, Tylenol, medical records, and a 2025 monthly planner from the home, according to a search warrant summary.
Mendoza said that a space heater found next to Arakawa’s body on the bathroom floor is not central to their investigation because the couple tested negative for carbon monoxide poisoning.
“Right now, there’s no indication that [the space heater] has anything to do with it,” he said.
The bodies of actor Gene Hackman, his wife and their dog were discovered in Santa Fe, N.M., on Wednesday afternoon during a welfare check, officials said.
Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 65, were found by a pair of maintenance workers in their housing community shortly before 2 p.m. on Wednesday.
The workers then notified a community caretaker, who went to the home and then called 911.
The caretaker didn’t have all the information when he called but knew he was looking through a window at two bodies lying on the ground inside.
The caller can be heard on audio telling the dispatcher that he can see what appears to be two motionless bodies inside the house. Shaken, he repeatedly says “damn” and urges authorities to rapidly respond.
“No, they are not moving. Please send someone out here quick,” the caller says.
Hackman’s body was found on the floor near the kitchen with a walking cane and a pair of sunglasses nearby, according to a court affidavit. Arakawa’s body was found in a bathroom by the home’s main entrance, and prescription pills were scattered on a nearby countertop. Mendoza said he cannot release details about the prescriptions due to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
The positioning of the couple’s bodies indicated that they may have suddenly fallen, according to the affidavit.
A German shepherd was found dead inside the home while two other dogs were alive on the property and able to enter the residence through a door at the back. The dog’s cause of death is unknown.
Santa Fe City Fire Department found no signs of a carbon monoxide leak or poisoning, according to the affidavit.
Actor Gene Hackman got his break in ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ and rose to stardom in ‘The French Connection.’ He was 95.
“We’re trying to figure out all the evidence and the autopsy is key, and that is going to take some time, Mendoza told the news program “Today.” “A little bit of patience on the family’s part, on everybody’s part, so we can have some answers to these deaths.”
At a news conference, Mendoza did not provide a timeline for the results, but noted that the medical examiner has ordered several tests expedited.
In the coming days investigators will build a timeline for when the couple were last seen alive and try to evaluate who spoke to them last. Mendoza described Hackman and Arakawa as “private individuals” who kept to themselves. There are no security cameras inside or outside the home for the investigators to draw upon, Mendoza said Friday.
The maintenance workers who discovered their bodies said they last communicated with the couple about two weeks prior and mainly spoke to Arakawa through text messages or calls.
At a news conference Friday afternoon, Santa Fe Film Commissioner Jennifer LaBar-Tapia thanked Hackman and Arakawa for their “kindness, generosity and love” to the city and their contributions to the film industry.
“Gene was not only a legendary actor whose talent shaped generations of storytelling, but he and Betsy were also longtime residents of our community, deeply woven into the fabric of Santa Fe,” she said. “Gene’s legacy in film is unparalleled, spanning decades of unforgettable performances, including some that are filmed right here in Santa Fe.”
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