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Gene Hackman and Wife’s Deaths Called ‘Suspicious’ in Search Warrant: ‘No Obvious Signs of a Gas Leak’ and ‘Thorough Investigation’ Required
The bodies were found by two maintenance workers. Arakawa was lying on the bathroom floor. A prescription pill bottle was open on the countertop, with pills scattered nearby. Hackman was discovered in the mud room, adjacent to the kitchen, with his sunglasses at his side.
Hackman had many roles, but his role as an investigator who records a murder in The Conversation was one of his best. I recall watching it and enjoying it, but concluding that it was not something I would want to see again...
So many wonderful performances. A number of his films were put out in Super 8.
Bonnie & Clyde - 3x400' UFA
Marooned - 200' Columbia (silent only)
The French Connection - 200', 400' Ken Films
The Poseidon Adventure - 200', 400' Ken Films
Young Frankenstein - 400' Piccolo Film
French Connection II - 200', 400' Ken Films
The Domino Principle - 3x400' UFA
March or Die - 3x400' Marketing Films
Superman - 200', 400' Warners (Columbia)
Superman II - 2x600' Derann
Great talent, long life, but what has happened recently for his wife and a dog to die at (or very near) the same time?
I thought his role in the Superman films gave him a lot of joy, he seemed to thoroughly enjoy being mischievous and evil at the same time playing "Lex Luthor", he's long been retired (his last film was in 2004) and the cinema screens have missed him, another one of the greats gone now, he has been and will be missed on screen and in life!
"The French Connection", one of his greatest hits, was released as a full feature on Super 8. I have it, and the color has largely held up well. Very slightest warming of the blacks, beyond that, it still looks great. One of those 70's features that had white titles on a completely black background. That still looks cheap to me today, but that was the style at the time. Feature has both letterboxed and full frame throughout.
"The French Connection", one of his greatest hits, was released as a full feature on Super 8. I have it, and the color has largely held up well. Very slightest warming of the blacks, beyond that, it still looks great. One of those 70's features that had white titles on a completely black background. That still looks cheap to me today, but that was the style at the time. Feature has both letterboxed and full frame throughout.
The French Connection and French Connection 2 were both available as full features. Plus you could also buy odd reels from Derann Colour was good.
Great talent, long life, but what has happened recently for his wife and a dog to die at (or very near) the same time?
The story as it has come out, and being winter, this has the feel of being a case of carbon-monoxide poisoning from a faulty heating system. It happens quite often and when we were able to get a new furnace I was glad to see the old one go, at least in part for this reason.
I'd say the tox-screen is going to tell the story here: there were no signs of external trauma on either victim. It still feels like some kind of poisoning: three simultaneous victims with no signs of violence.
It's interesting that Betsy Arakawa was discovered in the same room with an electric space heater. When I heard this, I thought maybe the Hackmans were also using a propane heater somewhere else in the house and given the long time until they were found the propane had run out, the heater cooled and the carbon-monoxide had dissipated, but even if that was true the victims would still show signs of CO poisoning.
There were open bottles of prescription medication found, spilled on the counter-top.
Hackmans pace maker failed, I think, on February 4th or a little later. Apparently, it was linked to some kind of online kind of thing, that is, observed from a distance. What I am betting, is that Hackman died, and his wife chose suicide, but that wouldn't explain the death of one of their dogs in the house, ( the two outside were fine). Even if they had been dead for a couple of weeks, the indoor dog, while famished, would still be alive, ( drink from the toilet ), unless it was a beloved pet by husband or wife, and she chose, to take that specific dog with them. It's not known right now as to how long they were dead, but they did find decomposition of the bodies taking place, so awhile
Gene Hackman's pacemaker activity suggests he died several days before he was found
February 28, 20257:51 PM ET
By Juliana Kim, Ayana Archie
Officials say actor Gene Hackman, 95, probably died days before he and his wife's bodies were found Wednesday at their home in Santa Fe, N.M.
Hackman's pacemaker was last active on Feb. 17, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adam Mendoza said at a news conference on Friday.
The sheriff said it was "a very good assumption" Hackman died on that day, based on information from a pathologist.
A pacemaker is an implanted battery-powered medical device that helps regulate the heart's rhythm.
The deaths of Hackman, 95, and Betsy Arakawa, 65, immediately prompted suspicion, authorities said. Initial reports found no signs of forced entry, foul play, a robbery, or a carbon monoxide or other gas leak.
Mendoza said on Friday the pathologist told him Hackman and Arakawa's bodies tested negative for carbon monoxide exposure.
Earlier on Friday, Mendoza told NBC's Today Show that initial reports had suggested the pair likely died "several days, possibly even up to a couple of weeks" before they were discovered. He said it was also unclear if the two passed at the same time.
Investigators were still trying to determine who last saw or spoke to the couple, but Mendoza said the couple was "very private," which is part of the challenge in the investigation.
What we know so far
Hackman and Arakawa were found dead in separate rooms of their home by a maintenance worker on Wednesday afternoon. The worker told authorities that the front door of the house was open when he arrived, according to a search warrant affidavit.
Mendoza later clarified on Friday that the front door was closed but unlocked.
When Santa Fe patrol deputies came to the scene, the actor's body was discovered in an area believed to be a mudroom while Arakawa's body was located in a bathroom closest to the front of the residence, the affidavit stated. An prescription bottle that appeared to be open and pills were found scattered on a countertop near Arakawa's body, the affidavit said.
Meanwhile, a German Shepherd was also found dead in a bathroom closet, the affidavit said. Both Hackman and Arakawa were wearing loungewear.
Two other dogs, both alive, were found around the property, one inside near Arakawa's body and the other outside the house, according to the affidavit.
Prior to Wednesday, the last time the worker or his colleague had been in contact with the couple was about two weeks prior, the affidavit said. Both workers told officers they rarely saw the homeowners and primarily communicated with the wife through phone or text.
Source: https://www.npr.org/2025/02/28/g-s1-...-investigation
Yes, it looks like Gene's heart failed, and Arakawa probably waited for a time, and then decided on suicide. She probably killed one of the dogs before taking her own life.
The news reports gave little insight into why individuals chose to kill their pets and family members before they killed themselves.
I was wrong , February 17th. I think that the others are right. She must have really loved him, as, she would have had quite a bit O money after Gene died, so my bet is that she couldn't live without him. Still, a great actor with quite a cinematic legacy.
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