Oscar-winner Gene Hackman, wife Betsy Arakawa and their dog were dead for some time, warrant shows

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Associated Press, via WTOP

Oscar-winner Gene Hackman, wife Betsy Arakawa and their dog were dead for some time, warrant shows

The Associated Press
February 27, 2025, 12:24 PM

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Oscar-winner Gene Hackman, his wife and their dog were found dead in different rooms of their Santa Fe home and had apparently been dead for some time, according to investigators. ... Hackman, 95, was found dead Wednesday in a mudroom and his 63-year-old wife, Betsy Arakawa, was found dead in a bathroom next to a space heater, Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office detectives wrote in a search warrant. There was an open prescription bottle and pills scattered on a countertop near Arakawa. ... Denise Avila, a sheriff’s office spokesperson, said there was no indication that any of them had been shot or had other types of wounds.

The New Mexico Gas Co. is working with the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department in the investigation, spokesperson Tim Korte told The Associated Press. ... The utility tested the gas lines in and around the home after the bodies were discovered, according to the warrant. At the time, it didn’t find any signs of problems. A detective noted that people exposed to gas leaks or carbon monoxide may not show signs of poisoning, but also noted there were no obvious signs of a gas leak.

The Associated Press left email and phone messages Thursday for sheriff’s officials seeking more details. A spokesperson for the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, which runs the state’s medical examiner operations, declined to comment on whether the cause and manner of deaths had been determined.

A worker reported that the home’s front door was open when he arrived for routine maintenance and that he called police after finding the bodies. Two workers told police that they rarely saw the homeowners and that their last contact with them had been about two weeks earlier. ... A dead German shepherd was found in a bathroom closet near Arakawa, police said. Two healthy dogs were found on the property.

{snip}

___

Fonseca reported from Flagstaff, Arizona, and Melley reported from London. Associated Press writers Andrew Dalton in Los Angeles, Jacques Billeaud in Phoenix and Sylvia Hui in London contributed.

Copyright © 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

Read more: https://wtop.com/national/2025/02/gene-hackman-wife-and-their-dog-found-dead-in-their-new-mexico-home-authorities-say-2/

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This new development struck me as worthy of its own thread.

[Bengus81]

1. What else could it be but carbon monoixed poisioning?

[Irish_Dem]

2. Pills spilled out and scattered on the counter top?

Doesn't explain dog's death however.

[KatyaR]

7. it could

If some pills were spilled on the floor.

[Irish_Dem]

17. Yes good point.

Pill death has to be on the list of possible cause of death scenarios.

[SunSeeker]

19. The article says the dog was found in a bathroom closet. Very weird. nt

[Bengus81]

12. Changing my post...evidently MSNBC updated because now it has no mention of her

being cleared of any possible CO2 poisoning by authorities. It now says it looks like Hackman suddenly fell in that mudroom. But...he's 95.

[ShazzieB]

36. Interesting!

[Jacson6]

5. CO2 poisoning makes people do illogical things.

But this is a really weird situation. We will find out when the autopsy is released.

[OnlinePoker]

20. CO, not CO2 n/t

[C Moon]

23. Maybe that's why the front door was open. My first thought was suicide by pills and the dog ate some.

But I think you're on to something. Eeek.

[NH Ethylene]

30. Why was the dog found in a closet then?

Maybe suicide? They dosed up the dog but wanted to be sure he didn't nibble on their bodies?

[kerry-is-my-prez]

78. They were tested for that and said that wasn't it.

[ms liberty]

3. Very sad. I hope they untangle the mystery.

[bdamomma]

43. Very sad

[brush]

77. She may have put the dog in the closet, then took pills to join Hackman in death. But being...

just 63, she had a long time to live. Maybe she just didn't want to live without him.

[twodogsbarking]

4. Sad indeed. Will be interesting to see what is found. Weird.

[eppur_se_muova]

6. Very unsettling developments. Dead dog in the closet ??

Maybe she found him dead and decided to go with him. Grief can do strange things to people.

[maxsolomon]

9. That's where my mind went.

He dies in his sleep (he's 95), she decides she can't go on. I find that hard to fathom, but maybe?

But why kill 1 dog and not the other 2? Weird.

The "closet" is probably the walk-in closet.

[SunSeeker]

21. The article says the closet was the bathroom closet, in the bathroom where Betsy was found. nt

[maxsolomon]

25. Yeah, lots of people have walk-ins off their bathrooms.

As usual, initial reports are sketchy and have information gaps.

[BlueKota]

28. I was thinking it was maybe a joint suicide pact

between him and her, and they didn't want the dog to be left without them. That doesn't make sense though now it's being reported 2 other dogs were left alive.

[Yoyoyo77]

53. We don't know age of the dog. Could have been an elder dog nearing it's own end game.

[Cha]

54. Also, Betsy was gone Before Gene Hackman.. the article

in GD said she was Decomposing.

[BlueKota]

55. This is such a sad story

[Cha]

57. Yes it is.. It feels Surreal posting

about it.

[Bengus81]

14. Now two other dogs found alive. Doesn't say inside or outside. This is all per MSNBC website.

[Laffy Kat]

26. One of the surviving dogs was inside and one was outside according to one report.

So sad. He was one of my favorite actors. His work in "Mississippi Burning" was amazing.

[Alice B.]

32. Dying animals or ones that are feeling poorly will somey hide.

Or retreat to areas that feel secure/out of the way. I hate dwelling on this too much but this has been my experience.

[LeftInTX]

38. Or dog was already having issues and without someone feeding it, it died.

Could have been a small breed and the others could have been other breeds.

[Alice B.]

42. So many possibilities and each one sadder than the next :(

Nt

[StarryNite]

68. I heard the dog that died was a German Shepherd Dog.

[LeftInTX]

69. Yes. In a crate .

[jeffreyi]

73. Unfortunately the dog may have come to a very sad end.

[snowybirdie]

8. We'll eventually find out

but as people age, murder suicide can't be ruled out. My good friend was shot by her husband of 50 years. She suffered from dementia and he had inoperable cancer. He thought he was doing her a mercy. So sad for a family. RIP Mr. And,Mrs. Hackman

[NH Ethylene]

33. He probably was.

Without him there to care for her she would have wound up in a nursing home. I don't know about her but I'd rather be dead.

[Joinfortmill]

10. Murder/Suicide?

[SunSeeker]

24. Officials say it looked like Gene had fallen. He was in the mudroom, wearing slippers and had his cane.

I'm thinking maybe Besty found him after he fell, realised he was dead, then took her own life in the bathroom with pills. Still doesn't explained the dead dog in the closet.

[Joinfortmill]

29. Quite possible.

[NH Ethylene]

34. Age 90 and thirty years his junior, it seems she would have expected he would die fairly soon.

It's hard to understand why she would be THAT devastated.

[SunSeeker]

62. True. Very weird. nt

[Cha]

56. Only the article in GD said Betsy went first.. her body

was already Decomposing.

[SunSeeker]

61. Yikes.

Looks like Gene must have out the dog in the closet. And he was on his way out the door when he fell, leaving the door open. Probably had dementia. Very sad.

[Cha]

63. Very and Confusing... It's surreal to

be talking about this after all the years of admiring Gene Hackman as an actor.

[Rebl2]

71. Well I think

they found pills scattered on the floor. Maybe the dog ate some of them and died.

[SunSeeker]

72. The dead dog was found in the bathroom closet. Someone put that dog there.

Plus, it appears Hackman had been dead dince February 17, according to data from his pacemaker. If you put a dog in a closet with no food or water, it could certainly die in 10 says, even without eating pills.

The caretaker who called authorties said the front door was ajar, but the rest of the property was locked up, and nothing appeared disturbed.

The whole thing is so weird.

[ScratchCat]

11. Given the locations, it doesn't sound like carbon monoxide

They were found in a mud room and bathroom, which means they were "awake" when they died. That would be very unusual that someone is unknowingly being exposed to cm and doesn't realize something is up before being overwhelmed and passing out. The dead dog in the closet with two others outside is odd as well. Then there are the pills.

I had a long-time neighbor commit suicide a few years ago and she killed her four rescue dogs too. It was odd. Nobody knows why exactly. All they knew is that she had told a co-worker a week or so prior that she had gone to a doctor for depression and gotten some medications(co-worker asked if she wanted to talk about it and she declined at the time).

[LeftInTX]

27. They mentioned a space heater. They sill make kerosene space heaters.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Dyna-Glo-10-000-BTU-Indoor-Kerosene-Radiant-Heater/2349689?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&gQT=1



The wikipedia pic is a Japanese kerosene space heater.
Ironically, it sounds like she is Japanese. I lived in Japan. We had a kerosene heater. Had to turn it off at night. Kerosene space heaters are still the norm in the Japan. They produce much more heat than an electric space heater. (Our heater heated the house. We didn't have any other source of heat) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerosene_heater

We can't rule out CO and we don't know if the space heater is kerosene or electric. A kerosene space heater is generally a superior source of heat than an electric space heater.

[wolfie001]

48. Tip over nightmare unlocked

[TexasBushwhacker]

64. Older homes often have gas wall heaters

in the bathrooms. Many of the homes in Santa Fe have radiant heat installed in the floors, but bathrooms need more heat because of all the tile.

[YoshidaYui]

13. what an odd story .

everyone but the dogs found dead in their place... i hope they come up with an explanation.

[Bengus81]

15. Reported now they've been dead for sometime.......

Sheriff Adan Mendoza said at a news conference on Thursday that the couple had been deceased “for quite a while” when deputies found their bodies.

From MSNBC.......

[Beringia]

16. What a muddle

[Clouds Passing]

18. Gene, Betsy, Dog

So sad

[milestogo]

22. An older dog whose owners died might get weak or sick

and if there was no food around or nobody to give the dog its medication - and it might seek a quiet place to die. Animals do that.

[NH Ethylene]

35. That could make sense, psarticularly if the bathroom door was open.

If it was closed, then no.

[milestogo]

70. Actually I heard later that the dog that died was in a crate.

So, no food or water after the owners died. Sad way to go.

[Escape]

31. I'm here in Santa Fe ...

but haven't even heard any rumors beyond what I've seen in the media.

I haven't seen food poisoning mentioned. A dog would eat leftover scraps. If I woke up feeling really poorly, I would try to take some kind of medicine for it. Might explain the spilled pills in the bathroom.

Guess we are all detectives now.

[Rhiagel]

37. The front door being open is bizarre.

If they had been dead for some time, it looks like someone would have noticed the front door being open. It seems like the other 2 dogs would have done some barking to alert others, too. Perhaps, their house was in a remote area with no close neighbors.

He was a brilliant actor. Just so sad. Godspeed, Gene.

[LeftInTX]

39. I read that the home was in a remote area.

[Rhiagel]

40. Yeah, that explains it. I found a map to visualize it.

Assuming this map is accurate, he lived on 12 acres.

https://virtualglobetrotting.com/map/gene-hackmans-house-2/view/google/

[defacto7]

45. I know exactly where that is.

They lived near Ten Thousand Waves. I drove by there all the time years ago heading up to hike in the mountains. Not that is matters to anyone.

[Cha]

58. It matters to you and it's interesting.. TY

[Linda ladeewolf]

41. Another scenario

Could be that she found Gene dead, they had two or three dogs, one was old the other two were younger. She dosed the old one, knowing someone would happily take the younger animals, then took her own life. It’s hard for some to go on alone. I was uncertain about the number of dogs, having real trouble reading or typing right now. Eyes problems.

[Cha]

59. If it's true.. the article in GD said she went first..

so that's really confusing.

"No foul play" but hopefully the autopsies will reveal what actually happened.

[BigmanPigman]

44. His wife's body was decomposing so she died first....

"Citing the affidavit, TMZ reported that Hackman appeared to have fallen as his sunglasses were found next to his body as he was fully clothed.

However, Arakawa appeared to have been dead for some time, as her body was in a state of decomposition with her face bloated and mummification in her hands and feet."

https://people.com/gene-hackman-death-everything-to-know-11687469

I find this odd.

[defacto7]

46. Now it's getting weird.

Of course, if she was near a space heater the decomposition would increase very quickly.

[BigmanPigman]

47. I know, it's weird

At first I thought one scenario would be sort of like Hitler and Eva Braun and their dog in a triple suicide. At one time I thought Hitler loved his dog so much that they wanted to die together but then I did some research and read that Hitler gave his dog the poison first, to make sure it would work on him and Eva.

[LisaL]

49. I think they were both decomposing and dead for some time.

NT

[LisaL]

52. Reading the affidavit, it appears they were both decomposing,

since his body was described showing signs of death similar to his wife.

[BigmanPigman]

60. The autopsy should uncover the facts of this case.

[whopis01]

65. The reports say the bodies were in similar states

It sounds like they died around the same time.

[BigmanPigman]

67. I assume the toxicology report will give

us more info. Do they perform autopsies on animals? A lab should do research on the dog as well. There must be a connection.

[whopis01]

74. It's called a necrsopsy on animals - but the same thing

Though from what I understand, the dog was in a crate - so it may have died from lack of water for that time period.

[BigmanPigman]

75. That's what I think, too.

[dalton99a]

50. Pdf of affidavit:

https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/documenttools/c4354003f4641340/ff88733d-full.pdf

[LisaL]

51. Very weird.

Sounds like both of them just dropped dead. But they are of such different ages so seems unlikely they both just dropped dead for health reasons.

[elocs]

66. What this thread needs is more speculation, so have at it. n/t

[Sneederbunk]

76. A lot of speculation that should be ended by autopsies.

But who can wait for those?