A week after the discovery of the bodies of the 95 -year -old actor and his wife, the sheriff in charge of the investigation brought a possible explanation of the drama.
Soon the end of the mystery? The investigation is still underway to elucidate the death of Gene Hackman And his wife, Betsy Arakawa, found dead at their home on February 26. The causes of deaths are still not known, but the authorities are beginning to issue hypotheses. The criminal track is still not retained for the time being, although the circumstances have been considered suspect. To date, the carbon monoxide poisoning trail has been excluded. Other tests and exams are underway, as is the analysis of the phones of the two deceased.
At the microphone of the Parisian on March 3, the sheriff of Santa Fe spoke of a possible track to explain the death of the 95 -year -old actor and his 63 -year -old wife: that of a dramatic chain of accidents. According to the first medico-legal findings, Gene Hackman could have succumbed to cardiac arrest. His pacemaker ceased to issue on February 17, the probable date of the death of the actor, and had already presented dysfunctions. This is what the medical examiner Michael Baden considers to the national daily.
The sheriff of the County of Santa Fe believes that Betsy Arakawa could have tried to save her husband. She would then have rushed in the bathroom to take medication (which would explain that a bottle was found open on site, pills scattered around her body). The investigators then envisage the fact that she could have a fall and undergo an internal trauma, provoking her death.
One of the couple’s three dogs, a German shepherd, was also found dead locked up in a bathroom closet. If nothing is yet to be excluded, it is also not impossible that the animal could have been involuntarily locked up by its mistress, causing the natural death of the animal by dehydration. It is a incredible, but plausible theory. However, it is not yet confirmed. Lhe Sheriff Adan Mendoza thus confirms this to the Parisian, “all the possibilities remain under study”.
What we know about drama
Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa were found on Wednesday around 1:45 p.m. by police, after a worried neighbor called to make sure everything was fine at home. The couple was found dead, just like one of their three dogs, whose body was discovered in a closet. The first observations reveal that the front door was open, but that there was no trace of break -in or obvious trace of a gas leak. The 95 -year -old pacemaker stopped operating on February 17: investigators think that it could be the death day, nine days before the discovery of the bodies.
According to the first medical examinations, the bodies have no external sign of physical trauma. It would also seem that Betsy Arakawa was the first to die, which raises new questions about the temporality and the reasons for the death of Gene Hackman. The search warrant reveals that the actor seems to have “suddenly fallen” in his kitchen, while his wife was found upstairs, in the bathroom, “pills dispersed on the counter”. According to the first medical examinations, carbon monoxide poisoning has been excluded and would not be involved: there is also no sign of gas leak.
Gene Hackman’s girls question
Already discreet in the media, the couple had also isolated in recent months in the private sphere. Betsy Arakawa would have stopped contacting her mother, aged and senile, for several months, while neighbors and relatives testify to the couple’s isolation. In addition, the behavior of the girls of Gene Hackman questions, while they were photographed at the exit of a restaurant, smiling, the day after the announcement of the death of their father and his wife. Note, moreover, that the elder, Elizabeth, had indicated to TMZ that the family leaned for the thesis of carbon monoxide poisoning, before it was excluded by medical examinations.
The mystery of the owner of the house
Another mystery that raises questions in this case: the identity of the owner of the house where Gene Hackman and his wife lived. The couple acquired the house in 1990, but it was recorded on behalf of Edgar F. Gross, former lawyer for the actor who died in 2016, who would have served as an intermediary during the acquisition of the property. The question remains why the actor does not appear on official documents. Is it a montage for tax reasons or is a financial agreement at the heart of the case?
An actor doubly ossarized
Gene Hackman received two Oscars during her career, a first for her role in the film French Connection by William Friedkin, a second for Ruthless of Clint Eastwood. In total, he was appointed for the prestigious award five times during his career: for Bonnie and Clyde in 1967, I never blood for my father in 1970, or in Mississippi Burning In 1988, for which he was appointed to the Oscars. We have also seen it in other major films, such as The adventure of Poseidon In 1972, Secret conversation In 1974, Superman in 1978 or more recently State enemy in 1998 and The Tenenbaum family In 2001. He ended his acting career in 2004, and was honored during the 97th Oscar ceremony on March 2, 2025.