Oscar-Winning Actor Gene Hackman, Wife Found Dead in Santa Fe Home

Investigators said on Feb. 27 that Academy Award-winning actor Gene Hackman, his wife, and one of their dogs had been dead for a substantial period of time before a worker found their bodies at their home in New Mexico this week.

The bodies of Hackman, 95, and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, 63, were found in a bathroom near a space heater, officials with the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a search warrant of their property. There was also an opened bottle of prescription medication and pills scattered on a countertop near Arakawa, they said.

A search warrant said that their deaths are “suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation because the reporting party found the front door of the residence unsecured and opened.”

Meanwhile, it added, “Deputies observed a healthy dog running loose on the property, another healthy dog near the deceased female, a deceased dog laying 10-15 feet from the deceased female in a closet of the bathroom, the heater being moved, the pill bottle being opened and pills scattered next to the female, the male decedent being located in a separate room of the residence, and no obvious signs of a gas leak.”

The New Mexico Gas Company tested gas lines in and around the home after the bodies were discovered, according to the search warrant. At the time, it didn’t find any signs of problems, and the Fire Department found no signs of a carbon monoxide leak or poisoning.

A sheriff’s detective wrote that there were no obvious signs of a gas leak, but he noted that people exposed to gas leaks or carbon monoxide might not show signs of poisoning.

The manner and cause of death for both Arakawa and Hackman is unknown, according to officials.

There were no indications “of blunt force trauma,” the search warrant affidavit also stated.

“However, Affiant is seeking to seize any blunt force objects in the event there is any indication of blunt force trauma once the Office of Medical Investigations arrives on scene; and conducts their initial field investigation and possible cause of death,” it stated.

A maintenance worker reported that the home’s front door was open when he arrived to do routine work on Feb. 26, and he called police after finding the bodies, investigators said. He and another worker said they rarely saw the homeowners and that their last contact with them had been about two weeks prior.

However, Hackman appeared to have fallen, a deputy observed. He was wearing a blue t-shirt, gray sweatpants, and slippers. A pair of sunglasses and a cane were nearby.

A dead German shepherd was found in a bathroom closet near Arakawa, police said. Two healthy dogs were found on the property, with one found inside and one outside.

Hackman, a five-time Oscar nominee who is considered one of the greatest actors of the 20th century, appeared in “The French Connection,” “The Conversation,” “Unforgiven,” “Superman,” “Bonnie and Clyde,” and dozens of other films. He won an Academy Award for his performance in “The French Connection” and another for “Unforgiven.”

Tributes quickly poured in from Hollywood after his death was announced.

“There was no finer actor than Gene,” actor-director Clint Eastwood, Hackman’s “Unforgiven” co-star, said in a statement. “Intense and instinctive. Never a false note. He was also a dear friend whom I will miss very much.”