Actor Gene Hackman and pianist Betsy Arakawa were found dead several days ago in two rooms of their home amid 'suspicious circumstances'.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, on the afternoon of February 27, investigators revealed details about the deaths of legendary actors Gene Hackman and his wife. The bodies of the couple were discovered by two maintenance workers in the early afternoon of February 26 at their mansion in Santa Fe, New Mexico. These people said they had not seen the couple for about two weeks.
Initially, police said there was no sign of foul play and suspected that the two died from a gas leak, but they later announced that the deaths were "of such a suspicious nature that a thorough search and investigation was warranted."
According to the search warrant report, investigators found the door to the house open, a healthy dog running around the house, another dog standing near the body of Betsy, 63, and a dead dog lying 3-4 meters next to the homeowner in the bathroom dressing room. The heater in the bathroom had been moved, and an open bottle of pills and pills were scattered next to Betsy. Meanwhile, the body of the 95-year-old actor was found in the shoe room near the kitchen. "There were no obvious signs of a gas leak," the report said.
Authorities suspect that the heater may have fallen in the case of the homeowner suddenly falling to the ground. When discovered, "her body showed obvious signs of death, her body was decomposed, her face was swollen, and her hands and feet showed signs of mummification." Actor Gene Hackman is suspected of having fallen suddenly and also had signs of having been dead for a while like his wife.
The New Mexico Gas Company inspected the gas lines in and around the home and found “no indication or evidence of any malfunction involving the lines.”
Police said there was no sign of forced entry or ransacking of the couple’s property. An initial autopsy found no signs of external trauma on either person’s body.
Sheriff Adan Mendoza told TMZ that his office had obtained a search warrant. He said nothing was ruled out during the investigation. According to Adan, deputies determined that the couple had been dead for at least a day and that while no injuries were found, they could have been victims of a double homicide, suicide, accident or natural causes.
Gene Hackman and pianist Betsy Arakaw have lived in this two-story mansion in Santa Fe since the 1980s. After Gene retired from acting in 2004, he and his wife lived a private life in Santa Fe. They were last photographed in March 2024, dining together at a restaurant.
Gene Hackman, born in 1930, is one of the most successful Hollywood actors of all time, winning two Oscars, three Golden Globes, two BAFTAs, and receiving the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003. He was married twice, with three children from his first marriage (1956 to 1986) to Faye Maltese. In 1991, he married classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, and they remained together until his death.
In a press release on the afternoon of February 27, Gene Hackman's daughters, Elizabeth and Leslie, and granddaughter Annie, shared: "We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our father, Gene Hackman, and his wife, Betsy. He was loved and admired by millions around the world for his outstanding acting career. To us, he was always just a loving father and grandfather. We will miss him very much and are deeply saddened by this loss."