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

[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.

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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.