It’s been amazing to see the outpouring of love for Gene Hackman, one of the greatest American actors of all time. He left behind an incredible body of work which will stand the test of time, and all of that happened before he retired in his mid-70s. By all accounts, he and his wife Betsy Arakawa lived peacefully and quietly in their New Mexico home, the same home where their remains were found this week. Alongside the lovely tributes to Hackman are the pressing questions of what the hell happened in that home and how Gene, Betsy and their dog all died. At first, people assumed it was something like carbon monoxide poisoning. At first, the local sheriff shrugged off concerns that there could be foul play or a need for an investigation. That changed over the course of the day on Thursday as journalists began asking more questions.
The actor Gene Hackman was found dead in a mud room in his New Mexico home and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, was found dead on the floor of a bathroom on Wednesday, according to a search warrant affidavit. An open prescription bottle and scattered pills were discovered near her body on a counter in the bathroom.
A dead German shepherd was found between 10 and 15 feet away from Ms. Arakawa in a closet of the bathroom, the affidavit said. There were no obvious signs of a gas leak in the home, it said, and the Fire Department did not find signs of a carbon monoxide leak.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on Thursday afternoon that “there were no apparent signs of foul play.”
Autopsies on Mr. Hackman and Ms. Arakawa were performed on Thursday, the sheriff’s office said. There was no initial sign of external trauma to either of them. Carbon monoxide tests and toxicology tests were requested for both of them, it said, but the results were still pending and the causes of their deaths had not been determined.
“This remains an open investigation,” the sheriff’s office said. Detective Roy Arndt wrote in the search warrant affidavit that Ms. Arakawa was found lying on her side on the bathroom floor with a space heater near her head, the affidavit said. The deputy who found her said he suspected that the heater could have fallen with Ms. Arakawa, the filing said.
Ms. Arakawa’s body showed signs of decomposition, the affidavit said. The dead dog was found near her in a closet, and two other dogs were found alive on the property.
The deputies were called to the scene after a maintenance worker who had gone to the home to perform some work on Wednesday afternoon grew concerned when no one answered the door, the sheriff’s office said in a statement. The worker asked local security officers to conduct a welfare check, and when they arrived and saw unresponsive bodies through the window they called 911.
A pair of deputies arrived and found Ms. Arakawa in the bathroom and then discovered Mr. Hackman lying in the mud room, with his body in a similar condition to his wife’s, the affidavit said. He was found in gray sweatpants, a blue long-sleeve T-shirt, brown slippers and with a cane, the affidavit said. A pair of sunglasses was found to his left. One of the deputies on the scene said that it appeared he had “suddenly fallen,” the affidavit said.
I’m glad the sheriff’s office has stopped minimizing whatever this is and they’re now committed to a full and thorough investigation. I’m also glad that the sheriff’s office is revealing more about what they do know, like the fact that Hackman and Arakawa’s bodies were found in different rooms, and that there “were no obvious signs of trauma to the bodies and that no note had been found.” Gene’s daughter Elizabeth told the press that she believes that carbon monoxide poisoning is the most likely explanation, but it’s clear that full autopsies will have to be conducted (and are already underway). Another possible clue: a space heater was found near Arakawa’s body, and one of the surviving dogs was inside the house and found near Arakawa’s body. I really hope the death of a great actor doesn’t turn into a Dateline episode.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.
