Foul play not ruled out in deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife as investigation continues
Santa Fe, New Mexico – Gene Hackman and his wife, classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, tested negative for carbon monoxide, according to the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Department. And the Oscar-winning actor likely died about nine days before his body was discovered by authorities.
During a news conference Friday, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza confirmed the last event noted on Hackman’s pacemaker was Feb. 17. When asked if Feb. 17 — nine days before his body was found — could be the day Hackman died, Mendoza noted that was a “very good assumption.”
“According to the pathologist, I think that is a very good assumption that that was his last day of life,” Mendoza said. He also confirmed after a discussion with the medical examiner that Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, “tested negative for carbon monoxide.”
“The manner and cause of death has not been determined,” Mendoza said.
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Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Awakara were last pictured together March 28, 2024, at Pappadeaux’s Seafood Kitchen in New Mexico. (Backgrid )
Mendoza noted that detectives will analyze “cellphone data, phone calls, text messages, events, photos in the cell phone to try to piece the timeline together.”
“One of the things is, in an investigation we try to piece the timeline together, usually before the event happens, and that gives us a lot of information,” Mendoza said. “But in this case, it seems like we’re doing a reverse timeline.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza gives insight into Gene Hackman’s likely ‘last day of life’
“The manner and cause of death has not been determined.”
“We’re doing a timeline from the time of death and the autopsy and the results. We’re going to start working our way backwards. We’re going to do both and then hopefully make a determination as to what may have happened to both of the individuals.”
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Hackman and Arakawa were last publicly photographed together March 28, 2024. Hackman was spotted holding onto his wife’s arm. He held onto a walking cane in his other hand. Arakawa looked out in the distance and held up her arm to support her husband.
The couple were pictured outside Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Hackman has lived in the area since the 1980s.
While Hackman and his wife mainly lived a private life, the last event they attended together appeared to be the 2003 Golden Globes, when he was honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award.
Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa during the 60th Annual Golden Globe Awards in 2003. (Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage)
The Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office released a search warrant inventory Friday of the items collected from Hackman and his wife’s home after their deaths, Fox News Digital has learned.
In the documents, obtained by Fox News Digital, investigators list two cellphones, MyQuest records, a 2025 planner, thyroid medication, blood pressure medication and Tylenol as the items they took from the house.
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An orange prescription bottle was found near Hackman’s wife, according to a search warrant affidavit. It appeared to be open with pills scattered on a countertop.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza discusses the investigation into Gene Hackman and his wife’s death
When asked whether the prescription bottles could have been related to the deaths, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza told the “Today” show Friday, “That’s obviously very important evidence at the scene. That information was collected … passed to the medical investigator to help them make a determination. … Yes, we’re looking at that specifically and other medications possibly in the residence. … That is something of concern.”
Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa married in 1991. (Donaldson Collection/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
Sheriff Mendoza and Santa Fe Fire Chief Brian Moya shared more information about the ongoing investigation with “Today,” saying Hackman and Arakawa may have been dead “up to a couple of weeks.”
“Just based on their bodies and other evidence on the body, it appears several days and possibly up to a couple weeks,” Mendoza said when asked when the couple died.
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Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza giving updates during a press conference regarding Gene Hackman’s death. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
When asked whether Hackman and his wife died simultaneously or whether one died before the other, the sheriff replied, “I think that’s very difficult to determine. I think it’s going to be pretty close.
“You know, there’s no indication that anyone was moving about the house or doing anything different. So, it’s very difficult to determine if they both passed at the same time or how close they passed together. We’re trying to put that information together and, obviously, with the assistance of the office of the medical investigator, I think the autopsy report is going to be the key to this investigation.
Law enforcement officials talk outside the home of actor Gene Hackman Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, in Santa Fe, N.M. Hackman, wife Betsy Arakawa and their dog were found dead inside the home a day earlier. (AP Photo/Roberto Rosales)
“We’re trying to put things together, a timeline when the decedents were last spoken to. Of course, we understand that is a challenge because they were very private individuals, and a private family. So, we’re trying to put all that information together right now.”
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza shares details about the death of Gene Hackman and his wife
The Oscar-winning actor was found dead alongside his wife, a classical pianist, and their dog in their sprawling Santa Fe, New Mexico, home Wednesday afternoon.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department revealed that autopsies have been completed for both Hackman and his wife. No external trauma was seen on either the actor or the musicia
Carbon monoxide and toxicology tests were ordered for Hackman and his wife because the manner and cause of death have not been determined.
Moya said his team had not found anything that was “concerning” and declared that it was safe to investigate the home.
The entrance to the gated community where actor Gene Hackman, wife Betsy Arakawa and their dog were found dead inside their home Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, in Santa Fe, N.M. (AP Photo/Roberto Rosales)
He noted that the home had natural gas and that there could have been a carbon monoxide leak that had dissipated by the time officials arrived. But he added that he had not found any evidence of an active leak.
“When we arrived, we made sure that our people, as well as the sheriff, were safe, and there was nothing that we found. We also went back yesterday to do another round of searches,” Moya told “Today.”
He continued to describe the layout of Hackman’s home, saying, “It was a very large home. It took a while for all of us to locate.”
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza speaking at a press conference regarding Gene Hackman and his wife’s death. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
Sheriff Mendoza confirmed there were several doors “unlocked at the residence.”
“I believe the front door was closed but unlocked and unsecured. There was one door that was ajar and that was towards the rear of the residence that two of the dogs that survived were coming in and out of the residence. … We’re not sure if that door was open upon the arrival of the emergency personnel,” Mendoza said.
Gene Hackman in the 1988 movie “Full Moon on Blue Water.” (Media Home Entertainment/Everett Collection)
The Santa Fe sheriff said the toxicology report may take up to three months for results or “possibly longer,” depending on how “busy the laboratory is.” Mendoza added his team hopes the results come “sooner rather than later.”
Mendoza said he is “pretty confident there is no foul play, just based on the lack of evidence of foul play.”
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“But we, of course, we’re not ruling that out. … The autopsy results, the official results, will steer us in the right direction. That could change, obviously, and we’re not ruling that out. This is an open investigation. It’s a couple [of] days old. We’re putting together the timeline. We’re trying to figure out all the evidence. … The autopsy is key, and that’s going to take some time.”
Gene Hackman in a publicity still for the 1998 movie “ANTZ,” in which he played General Mandibula. (Dreamworks/Everett Collection)
In the search warrant affidavit obtained by Fox News Digital, officials revealed that Arakawa’s body had been found decomposed with bloating on her face and mummification in her hands and feet. Hackman showed the same signs of decomposition as his wife.
A harrowing 911 call, obtained by Fox News Channel, was made by a distressed maintenance worker after the man discovered the bodies of Hackman and his wife.
The employee frantically pleaded for police to rush to the New Mexico home.
Gene Hackman in the 1988 movie “Full Moon on Blue Water.” (Media Home Entertainment/Everett Collection)
“A search warrant was executed just before 10 p.m. last night. They’ve been working diligently through the night and starting again in the morning to completely process the scene. We’re still in the preliminary steps of the investigation,” authorities said.
Hackman’s daughter Leslie told Fox News Digital Thursday that although her father “was 95, he was in very good health,” adding he did yoga and Pilates regularly.
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Leslie said she hadn’t seen her father in a “few years,” only because he no longer traveled much, and she lives in California. But she said they were close and had “been in touch over the last couple of months.”
Santa Fe Fire Chief Brian Moya speaks at a press conference. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
“I loved him dearly,” she said. “He was a genuinely good-hearted person.”
