TRAGIC END FOR SCREEN LEGEND
Mystery surrounds death of Gene Hackman, 95
Found dead in NM home with wife and dog also deceased
28 feb 2025 - New York Post
By NIKA SHAKHNAZAROVA, ISABEL KEANE and JORGE FITZ-GIBBON With Post Wires
ikeane@nypost.com
Two-time Oscar winner Gene Hackman, who starred in such classics as “The French Connection,” was found dead yesterday along with his wife, Betsy, and a dog in his New Mexico home. Police are investigating the strange circumstances, with sources saying Betsy, 65, had been dead for two weeks. Hollywood icon Gene Hackman and his longtime wife were found dead Wednesday inside their New Mexico home — a “suspicious” and tragic discovery that included pills scattered about a bathroom, the couple’s dead dog in a closet and an open front door. The body of the 95-year-old “French Connection” star was discovered in a mudroom in his and wife Betsy Arakawa’s Santa Fe mansion next to his walking cane and a pair of sunglasses, indicating he likely fell, according to police.
Tragic discovery
The mummified remains of Arakawa, 65, meanwhile, were located in a bathroom alongside an open prescription bottle and pills scattered on the countertop and her dead dog close by in the closet.
“I think we just found two, one deceased person inside the house,” a security guard who was conducting a welfare check told the dispatcher in a 911 call obtained by TMZ. “I’m the caretaker for the subdivision.”
At one point during the call, he could be heard repeating, “damn, damn, damn” as the dispatcher contacted paramedics.
The horrifying discovery was made around 1:45 p.m. Wednesday, but it’s unclear exactly when Hackman and Arakawa died.
A maintenance worker who stopped by to do work at the sprawling $3.3 million abode grew concerned when there was no answer and contacted the security guard to check on the couple.
In the 911 call, the guard told police he saw the bodies through a window and only described them as “a female and a male.”
He said several times he would meet police “at the gatehouse” of the property and that he would “bring them up here.”
The dispatcher asked if the they were “awake” or “breathing.”
“I have no idea, I’m not inside the house. It’s closed. It’s locked, I can’t go in. But I see, she’s lying down . . .”
“Are they moving at all?” the dispatcher asked.
“No, they’re not moving,” the flustered worker answered.
“Just send somebody out here really quick!”
Piecing clues together
Hackman was found on the floor in a mudroom off the kitchen with “obvious signs of death, similar and consistent with the female decedent,” an affidavit revealed.
Police said there were indications he might have “suddenly fallen.”
Arakawa, a classical pianist, was found on the floor of a bathroom next to a bottle of spilled pills — and one of the couple’s dogs, a German shepherd, was lying dead in a bathroom closet about 15 feet away, the document said.
Their two other dogs were found alive and “healthy” — with one outside the home and the other near Arakawa’s body in the bathroom.
Authorities said there was no sign of foul play but that the deaths were “suspicious enough” to warrant an investigation and a search of the Old Sunset Trail home.
“At this time; the manner and cause of death pertaining to Eugene “Gene” Allen Hackman and Betsy Arakawa passing is unknown,” an affidavit said.
“[The deputy] believes that the circumstances surrounding the death of the two deceased individuals to be suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation because the reporting party found the front door of the residence unsecured and open.”
Arakawa had “obvious signs of death, body decomposition, bloating in her face and mummification in both hands and feet,” according to the affidavit.
A black space heater was found near her head, and the officer wrote that “he suspected the heater could have fallen in the event the female abruptly fell to the ground.” The sheriff’s office also found the door to the 8,000 home, square-foot which sits on six acres, was ajar, but there were no signs of forced entry or theft, the affidavit said. “There are no immediate signs or indications of blunt force trauma,” police said. Fire department officials who responded reported finding no signs of a carbon monoxide leak or poisoning, according to the report. The New Mexico Gas Co. is working with the Santa Fe County Sheriff ’s Department in the investigation, a spokesperson said. The cause of death for Hackman and Arakawa will be determined by a medical examiner, officials said.
The star’s daughters and granddaughter said they were “devastated” by the loss — remembering him as “always just Dad and Grandpa.”
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy,” Elizabeth, Leslie and Annie Hackman said in a statement. “He was loved and admired by millions around the world for his brilliant acting career, but to us he was always just Dad and Grandpa. We will miss him sorely and are devastated by the loss.”
The two-time Oscar-wining star of “The French Connection,” “Unforgiven” and “Hoosiers” was one of Hollywood’s most celebrated bold names, with an impressive résumé of classic films before he retired.
Last public sighting
Hackman and Arakawa enjoyed a rare dinner outing in the final photos taken of the pair nearly a year before their tragic deaths.
The couple, who had been married since 1991, were pictured together for the last time on March 28, 2024, during a sighting at Pappadeaux’s Seafood Kitchen in Santa Fe, where they lived since 2004.
The star was seen holding onto Arakawa’s arm for balance while also using a cane.
The outing marked the first time the couple had been seen together in public for 21 years, with the last time being at the 2003 Golden Globes, where Hackman was honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award.
Lifetime recognition
At the glitzy Los Angeles ceremony, he received praise for “outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment,” which was presented to him by Michael Caine and the late Robin Williams.
The following year, Hackman took his final bow in “Welcome to Mooseport” before retiring from the public eye.
In addition to Elizabeth, 63, and Leslie, 58, Hackman is also survived by son Christopher, 65. He had all three children with ex-wife Faye Maltese. Their 30-year marriage ended in 1986.
Hackman acknowledged that his children had a difficult upbringing with him as a father.
“Living in California, they’ve had my success always hanging over their heads,” he candidly shared with the Irish Independent in 2000.
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