Current Gene Hackman & wife Betsy Arakawa found dead * Their dog also dead locked in a cupboard

[Kurve]

* AUTOPSIES PROVE THE DEATHS WERE NOT SUSPICIOUS

Hackman, 95, his wife Betsy Arakawa, 65, and one of their three dogs were found dead by a maintenance worker who had arrived to do routine work at their Santa Fe home on Wednesday.

Hackman was found in the home's mudroom — a small room near an entryway where shoes and jackets are stored.

Arakawa was found next to a fallen space heater in a bathroom, where an open prescription bottle and pills were scattered on a nearby countertop.

Police said a dead German shepherd was found in a bathroom closet.

They'd been dead for a while with Arakawa showing signs of mummification.

The front door was found unsecured and open.

Mystery of Gene Hackman and wife's death deepens as police search house

Hackman, his wife Betsy Arakawa and one of their three dogs were found dead by a maintenance worker who had arrived to do routine work at their Santa Fe home on Wednesday.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Sqotty from office works]

At 95 probably nothing left to look forward to.

 

[Ichiro #51]

If I had to guess, she found GH dead from natural causes, poisoned his favourite dog, then took her own life. All to be reunited in the afterlife.

 

[Aristotle Pickett]

Neither of them would have let a dog suffer imo.
To me it looks like the wife overdosed and Gene fell and couldn't get up.

 

[Aristotle Pickett]

If I had to guess, she found GH dead from natural causes, poisoned his favourite dog, then took her own life. All to be reunited in the afterlife.

Why would a dog lover poisen a dog?

 

[TimZoo]

At 95 probably nothing left to look forward to.

I don't know,Getting that letter from the king when you hit 100 sounds riveting

 

[Kurve]

Neither of them would have let a dog suffer imo.
To me it looks like the wife overdosed and Gene fell and couldn't get up.

Who locked the dog in the bathroom cupboard?

 

[Aristotle Pickett]

Who locked the dog in the bathroom cupboard?

I'm not sure it was locked in. Maybe it ate some of the pills and went in there to die.

Another possibility is they both took recreational drugs and overdosed , like fentanyl, or they died of food poisoning with something they ate like wild mushrooms.

 

[Kurve]

I'm not sure it was locked in. Maybe it ate some of the pills and went in there to die.

Another possibility is they both took recreational drugs and overdosed , like fentanyl, or they died of food poisoning with something they ate like wild mushrooms.

Oh, maybe one of them put the dog in the cupboard after it had died but which is also strange.

Putting a dog in a cupboard is something a crim would make someone do if the dog was trying to protect their human.

 

[Aristotle Pickett]

Oh, maybe one of them put the dog in the cupboard after it had died but which is also strange.

Putting a dog in a cupboard is something a crim would make someone do if the dog was trying to protect their human.

I think the dog was in its bed cage in the cupboard.
The other two dogs were roaming free so no crims imo.
Regarding the deaths, I think you can rule out suicide pact and murder suicide.
It's possible the wife suicided if Hackman died of natural causes .
Accidental drug overdose of both is my bet.

 

[Kurve]

I think the dog was in its bed cage in the cupboard.
The other two dogs were roaming free so no crims imo.
Regarding the deaths, I think you can rule out suicide pact and murder suicide.
It's possible the wife suicided if Hackman died of natural causes .
Accidental drug overdose of both is my bet.

They would have a lot of CCTV surely, so something might show up in that to give more of the story.

 

[Aristotle Pickett]

They would have a lot of CCTV surely, so something might show up in that to give more of the story.

Would solve the case yes

 

[Aristotle Pickett]

At a press conference at the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office on Friday afternoon, Sheriff Adan Mendoza announced that an investigation by Dr Heather Jarrell, New Mexico's Chief Medical Investigator, had revealed that Hackman’s pacemaker had stopped 10 days before his body was found.

" An initial interrogation was conducted of Mr Hackman's pacemaker. This revealed that his last event was recorded on February 17, 2025, I was advised that a more thorough investigation will be completed,” said Mendoza.

Gene Hackman’s pacemaker stopped on February 17, says Sheriff: latest updates

The Oscar-winning actor, best known for ‘The French Connection’ and ‘The Conversation’, was found dead along with his wife Betsy Arakawa and a pet dog

www.independent.co.uk

 

[Kurve]

It's very sad.

 

[Teagueeee15]

I thought it was interesting that on the 911 call, the caretaker said they found 2 bodies before quickly going errr 1 body.

Also interesting in the police press conference that the front door was left open.

I was thinking Gene may have died of natural causes and the wife committed suicide, but it’s odd that she wouldn’t lie down next to him in the mud room if she did take a bunch of those pills. Also odd that she wouldn’t have let the dog out of the cupboard if so and presumably the dog starved to death.

 

[BomberManU]

Maybe his wife had a heart attack when she found GH and was scrambling for pills/heart medication as she passed away.
I'd be very surprised if there's a crime here.

 

[Festerz]

The actor Gene Hackman died from heart disease at his home in New Mexico, most likely a week after his wife, Betsy Arakawa, died from the effects of hantavirus, a disease linked to rodents that can cause respiratory failure in rare cases, the authorities said on Friday.

The revelation that the famous and reclusive couple had died of natural causes put to rest much of the speculation that followed the discovery of their bodies on Feb. 26. But it also raised new questions about the state of mind of Mr. Hackman, who had severe Alzheimer’s disease, and why the couple was not discovered sooner.

Ms. Arakawa, 65, had run a series of errands on Feb. 11, but the authorities could find no evidence of any activity after that, suggesting that she could have died that day. Mr. Hackman, 95, is believed to have died about a week later, on Feb. 18, according to New Mexico’s chief medical examiner, Dr. Heather Jarrell.

Dr. Jarrell said that the pills found near Ms. Arakawa were thyroid medication and were not associated with her cause of death.

Gene Hackman Died a Week After His Wife, Both From Natural Causes

The actor’s wife, Betsy Arakawa, died of a respiratory illness linked to rodents, New Mexico officials said. Mr. Hackman had Alzheimer’s, which contributed to his death from heart disease.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Roobs321]

yeah I think that's what a lot of us assumed from the initial newsbreak (i.e. non-crime), that she passed earlier (from whatever cause) and he was just a very old guy maybe losing it a bit in every respect whose predicament wasn't discovered in time

 

[GrayRanga]

Said isn't it; the immage an once active man who was once at the top of his acting career, suffering hrom Alzheimer's wandering around an empty housse as his care giver had died until he succumbed to thirst, starvation or general heart failure due to the lack of prescribed medication.

Wonder haw many times he attempted to feed his wife the drugs to "wake" her up?

 

[Percel]

My mother had the curse that is early onset Alzheimers and her deterioration was fast and brutal- evolving when I was a teenager. My father spending all his days as a carer from the day he retired early.

And by caring I mean 24 hour seven days a week stuff that I needn't go into details here. By the end every mirror surface in his home was either placed into storage or dusted with powder to stop my mum arguing with herself. Locks on every kitchen and bathroom cupboard and having to deadlock doors from the inside at all times lest she go for unplanned excursions.

Support from the government was pitiful but did provide for 7 day respite care twice a year. Many of those 'respite' days he spent volunteering for the Alzheimers Association, helping others to deal with their own crises. Tragically mom died during one of those nursing home stays - strangled by her own bedding that was not discovered until the morning many hours after it happened. The claims of the well known Adelaide nursing home of regular checks on at risk residents was proved false in the Coroners Court. We were advised to take legal action but decided against it - wanting no publicity and no more lives to be hurt through this personal tragedy.

My dad went to his grave always feeling guilt for having placed her there. His children regretting that they had not done more to help.

Such is the hidden tragedy of dementia. It happens frequently in every town and city but is never talked about.

Of course the focus is on Gene Hackman and how it must have been for him in his last days. But let's also not forget the tragedy of his talented wife Betsy Arakawa whose last years, months, and days were spent caring for him - possibly to the detriment of looking after her own health. I am not a religious person but if there is such a thing as an afterlife, they both deserve to live in happiness together.

Thanks for sharing, it’s so brutal, let alone so emotional.

I fear I’m facing the same very very soon, if not already.

Hope the old man rests in peace.

 

[Frank Bunn]

This is how you do a press conference. Organised, detailed, respectful.

 

[Festerz]

Thanks for sharing, it’s so brutal, let alone so emotional.

I fear I’m facing the same very very soon, if not already.

Hope the old man rests in peace.

Have deleted my post as it is too personal and off topic for a crime thread. But thanks for your comment and best wishes for your own journey.