Authorities are preparing to release additional details regarding the investigation into the deaths of actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, whose partially mummified bodies were discovered at their New Mexico home last month.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office has stated that foul play is not suspected, and tests for carbon monoxide poisoning returned negative results. Sheriff Adan Mendoza, along with officials from state fire, health, and forensic departments, has scheduled a press conference to provide updates on the case.
Investigators believe the couple may have died up to two weeks before they were found on February 26. Hackman’s pacemaker last recorded activity on February 17, indicating he may have passed away nine days before maintenance and security workers arrived at the home and contacted authorities.
Arakawa was discovered in the bathroom with an open prescription bottle and pills scattered on the counter, while Hackman was found in the home’s entryway. One of the couple’s three dogs was also found deceased in a crate inside a bathroom closet near Arakawa, while the other two dogs survived. Authorities initially misidentified the deceased dog’s breed.
Investigators retrieved personal items from the home, including a monthly planner and two cellphones, which will undergo further analysis. The medical examiner’s office is working to determine the official cause of death, but toxicology reports often take weeks to complete.
The bodies were in a state of decomposition with signs of mummification, a process influenced by body composition and Santa Fe’s dry climate at an elevation of nearly 7,200 feet.
Gene Hackman, a two-time Academy Award-winning actor, had a celebrated career in Hollywood, starring in films such as “The French Connection,” “Hoosiers,” and “Superman” before retiring in the early 2000s. Betsy Arakawa, originally from Hawaii, studied as a concert pianist and attended the University of Southern California. She met Hackman in the mid-1980s while working at a gym in California.
The couple resided in a stucco, Pueblo-revival style home in a gated community at the southern end of the Rocky Mountains. Santa Fe is known as a retreat for celebrities, artists, and writers. In retirement, Hackman focused on painting and writing novels and served on the board of trustees at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe. The couple was also involved in local business investments.
