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mahatmakanejeeves

(64,301 posts) Thu Feb 27, 2025, 01:45 PM Feb 27

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

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}

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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/

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

78 replies

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Highlight:

Oscar-winner Gene Hackman, wife Betsy Arakawa and their dog were dead for some time, warrant shows [View all] mahatmakanejeeves Feb 27 OP

What else could it be but carbon monoixed poisioning? Bengus81 Feb 27 #1

Pills spilled out and scattered on the counter top? Irish_Dem Feb 27 #2

it could KatyaR Feb 27 #7

Yes good point. Irish_Dem Feb 27 #17

The article says the dog was found in a bathroom closet. Very weird. nt SunSeeker Feb 27 #19

Changing my post...evidently MSNBC updated because now it has no mention of her Bengus81 Feb 27 #12

Interesting! ShazzieB Feb 27 #36

CO2 poisoning makes people do illogical things. Jacson6 Feb 27 #5

CO, not CO2 n/t OnlinePoker Feb 27 #20

Maybe that's why the front door was open. My first thought was suicide by pills and the dog ate some. C Moon Feb 27 #23

Why was the dog found in a closet then? NH Ethylene Feb 27 #30

They were tested for that and said that wasn't it. kerry-is-my-prez Mar 1 #78

Very sad. I hope they untangle the mystery. ms liberty Feb 27 #3

Very sad bdamomma Feb 27 #43

She may have put the dog in the closet, then took pills to join Hackman in death. But being... brush Mar 1 #77

Sad indeed. Will be interesting to see what is found. Weird. twodogsbarking Feb 27 #4

Very unsettling developments. Dead dog in the closet ?? eppur_se_muova Feb 27 #6

That's where my mind went. maxsolomon Feb 27 #9

The article says the closet was the bathroom closet, in the bathroom where Betsy was found. nt SunSeeker Feb 27 #21

Yeah, lots of people have walk-ins off their bathrooms. maxsolomon Feb 27 #25

I was thinking it was maybe a joint suicide pact BlueKota Feb 27 #28

We don't know age of the dog. Could have been an elder dog nearing it's own end game. Yoyoyo77 Feb 27 #53

Also, Betsy was gone Before Gene Hackman.. the article Cha Feb 27 #54

This is such a sad story BlueKota Feb 27 #55

Yes it is.. It feels Surreal posting Cha Feb 27 #57

Now two other dogs found alive. Doesn't say inside or outside. This is all per MSNBC website. Bengus81 Feb 27 #14

One of the surviving dogs was inside and one was outside according to one report. Laffy Kat Feb 27 #26

Dying animals or ones that are feeling poorly will somey hide. Alice B. Feb 27 #32

Or dog was already having issues and without someone feeding it, it died. LeftInTX Feb 27 #38

So many possibilities and each one sadder than the next :( Alice B. Feb 27 #42

I heard the dog that died was a German Shepherd Dog. StarryNite Feb 28 #68

Yes. In a crate . LeftInTX Feb 28 #69

Unfortunately the dog may have come to a very sad end. jeffreyi Mar 1 #73

We'll eventually find out snowybirdie Feb 27 #8

He probably was. NH Ethylene Feb 27 #33

Murder/Suicide? Joinfortmill Feb 27 #10

Officials say it looked like Gene had fallen. He was in the mudroom, wearing slippers and had his cane. SunSeeker Feb 27 #24

Quite possible. Joinfortmill Feb 27 #29

Age 90 and thirty years his junior, it seems she would have expected he would die fairly soon. NH Ethylene Feb 27 #34

True. Very weird. nt SunSeeker Feb 27 #62

Only the article in GD said Betsy went first.. her body Cha Feb 27 #56

Yikes. SunSeeker Feb 27 #61

Very and Confusing... It's surreal to Cha Feb 27 #63

Well I think Rebl2 Feb 28 #71

The dead dog was found in the bathroom closet. Someone put that dog there. SunSeeker Feb 28 #72

Given the locations, it doesn't sound like carbon monoxide ScratchCat Feb 27 #11

They mentioned a space heater. They sill make kerosene space heaters. LeftInTX Feb 27 #27

Tip over nightmare unlocked wolfie001 Feb 27 #48

Older homes often have gas wall heaters TexasBushwhacker Feb 27 #64

what an odd story . YoshidaYui Feb 27 #13

Reported now they've been dead for sometime....... Bengus81 Feb 27 #15

What a muddle Beringia Feb 27 #16

Gene, Betsy, Dog Clouds Passing Feb 27 #18

An older dog whose owners died might get weak or sick milestogo Feb 27 #22

That could make sense, psarticularly if the bathroom door was open. NH Ethylene Feb 27 #35

Actually I heard later that the dog that died was in a crate. milestogo Feb 28 #70

I'm here in Santa Fe ... Escape Feb 27 #31

The front door being open is bizarre. Rhiagel Feb 27 #37

I read that the home was in a remote area. LeftInTX Feb 27 #39

Yeah, that explains it. I found a map to visualize it. Rhiagel Feb 27 #40

I know exactly where that is. defacto7 Feb 27 #45

It matters to you and it's interesting.. TY Cha Feb 27 #58

Another scenario Linda ladeewolf Feb 27 #41

If it's true.. the article in GD said she went first.. Cha Feb 27 #59

His wife's body was decomposing so she died first.... BigmanPigman Feb 27 #44

Now it's getting weird. defacto7 Feb 27 #46

I know, it's weird BigmanPigman Feb 27 #47

I think they were both decomposing and dead for some time. LisaL Feb 27 #49

Reading the affidavit, it appears they were both decomposing, LisaL Feb 27 #52

The autopsy should uncover the facts of this case. BigmanPigman Feb 27 #60

The reports say the bodies were in similar states whopis01 Feb 28 #65

I assume the toxicology report will give BigmanPigman Feb 28 #67

It's called a necrsopsy on animals - but the same thing whopis01 Mar 1 #74

That's what I think, too. BigmanPigman Mar 1 #75

Pdf of affidavit: dalton99a Feb 27 #50

Very weird. LisaL Feb 27 #51

What this thread needs is more speculation, so have at it. n/t elocs Feb 28 #66

A lot of speculation that should be ended by autopsies. Sneederbunk Mar 1 #76