Hollywood legend Gene Hackman and his wife were found dead in their home, with authorities saying the couple had seemingly been deceased for some time when their bodies were discovered. Their deaths are “suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation”.
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The deaths of Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa have been ruled as “suspicious” according to a new search warrant affidavit.
The couple and their dog were found dead in their New Mexico home on 26 February. Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Denise Avila said deputies found the bodies while carrying out a welfare check. At the time it was believed that there was no foul play involved.
No cause of death has been revealed but there was no obvious sign of forced entry or a gas leak. The New Mexico Gas Co. tested the gas lines in and around the home after the bodies were discovered, according to the warrant.
Preliminary findings from a medical investigation have found the couple suffered "no external trauma".
Official results of post-mortem examinations and toxicology reports are pending.
Now, according to the affidavit, their deaths are “suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation”.
Arakawa’s body was found “in a closet of the bathroom” with the heater next to her, as well as the pair’s deceased German Shepherd. It seemed she had been dead for some time. Pills were scattered next to the body, which “showed obvious signs of death, body decomposition, bloating in her face and mumification in both hands and feet.”
Hackman’s body was found in an entryway. The deputy “suspected the male individual has suddenly fallen” and “showed obvious signs of death, similar and consistent with the female decedent.”
Hackman was 95, while Arakawa, a classical pianist, was 63. He leaves behind three children: Christopher, Elizabeth Jean and Leslie Anne, with whom he shared with his late ex-wife, Faye Maltese, who died in 2017.
Tributes have poured in for Hackman, with StudioCanal calling Hackman's death "a colossal loss for cinema" in a tribute posted on X, while Star Trek star George Takei said: "We have lost one of the true giants of the screen. Gene Hackman could play anyone, and you could feel a whole life behind it. He could be everyone and no one, a towering presence or an everyday Joe. That's how powerful an actor he was.”
“There was no finer actor than Gene," actor-director Clint Eastwood said in a statement. “Intense and instinctive. Never a false note. He was also a dear friend whom I will miss very much.”
