An investigation is underway after actor Gene Hackman, 95, and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, 64, were mysteriously dead next to a dog in their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the Home, authorities said.
The couple was found on Wednesday during a social assistance check, according to the Sheriff’s office in Santa Fe County.
There were no obvious signs of how they died. However, their deaths were “suspicious enough in nature to require an exhaustive search and research” due to all the “circumstances surrounding” the scene, according to the affidavit of the search warrant.
Actor Gene Hackman with wife, Betsy Arakawa, in June 1993.
AP
The academy award winning actor was found on the floor of the mud room, according to the search warrant. It seemed that he fell suddenly, and he and his wife “showed obvious signs of death,” the document said.
Arakawa was found lying sideways on the floor in a bathroom, with a space heater near his body, according to the search warrant.
His body showed signs of decomposition, according to the document. There was mummification in his hands and feet, according to the document.
In the counter near Arakawa there was an open recipe bottle, with scattered pills, according to the search warrant.
Actor Gene Hackman arrives with his wife, Betsy Arakawa, for the 60th annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California, Sunday, January 19, 2003.
Mark J. Terrill/Ap
A German shepherd was found dead about 10 to 15 feet from Arakawa, according to the document. That dog was in a box or kennel, according to the Sheriff of the County of Santa Fe, Adan Mendoza.
But two other dogs were found alive, and it seemed that they had access to a dog door, said the sheriff. A healthy dog was close to Arakawa and the other was located outside, according to the search warrant.
The Fire Department of the city of Santa Fe did not find signs of a possible leakage or poisoning of carbon monoxide, according to the document. If there were carbon monoxide on the scene, it could have been expelled from the house through the open entrance door before the responders arrived.
Aerial view of actor’s house Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa in Santa Fe County, on February 27, 2025. Hackman and Arakawa were found dead at home on Wednesday, February 26. An investigation into its causes of death is ongoing.
Koat
The New Mexico gas company also responded and “from now on, there are no signs or evidence that indicates that there were problems associated with pipes inside and around the residence,” the document said.
Two maintenance workers said they had not heard from Hackman and Arakawa in approximately two weeks, according to the document.
A maintenance worker who initially responded to the house found the main door open, according to the affidavit of the search warrant. But there were no forced signs of entry and no elements of signs were taken, according to the document.
There were no indications of a crime and “there could be a multitude of reasons why the door was open,” the Sheriff told journalists on Thursday.
Their way and cause of death are not known, according to the search warrant.
“There was no obvious sign or indication of dirty game,” but the authorities “have not yet ruled out that,” said the Sheriff.
The researchers “keep everything on the table,” he added.
Mendoza said that “it seems that they had died for a while”, but I would not speculate for how long.
