Legendary actor and two-time Oscar winner Gene Hackman and his wife, classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, were found dead Wednesday afternoon at their home in the Santa Fe Summit community northeast of Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza confirmed shortly after midnight Thursday that the couple had passed away along with their dog. While Mendoza did not disclose a cause of death or specify when they might have died, he stated in an interview that there were no immediate signs of foul play.
Immediate speculation centered around the possibility of carbon monoxide poisoning, but a new report indicates that authorities are investigating their deaths as "suspicious."
According to a search warrant that TMZ obtained, a Santa Fe detective expressed concerns in his affidavit that the circumstances surrounding the deaths warranted further investigation. The detective wrote that he believed “the death of the two deceased individuals to be suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation” due to several unusual details at the scene.
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Among the factors the detective cited were an unsecured and open front door, a healthy dog running loose on the property, another healthy dog near the deceased female, and a deceased dog found in a bathroom closet about 10 to 15 feet from her body. The affidavit also noted that a space heater had been moved, an open bottle with scattered pills was found next to the female victim, the male victim was discovered in a separate room, and there were no obvious signs of a gas leak.
Breaking this down ... Gene's wife, Betsy Arakawa, was found in the bathroom on the ground near the countertop, lying on her right side. The deputy saw a black space heater near her head. The deputy believed the heater could have fallen in the event Betsy abruptly fell to the ground. The deputy also noticed an orange prescription bottle on the countertop, which was open with pills scattered on the countertop. It appears she had been dead for some time, because the body was in a state of decomposition with bloating in her face and mummification in her hands and feet. Gene was found in a separate room off the kitchen. He was fully clothed and they suspected he may have suddenly fallen, because his sunglasses were found next to his body.
The fire department came and advised they did not see any signs of carbon monoxide leak or poisoning. The New Mexico gas company came to the residence and conducted testing on the gas lines in and around the house, and concluded, "As of now, there are no signs or evidence indicating there were any problems associated to the pipes in and around the residence."
The deceased dog, a German Shepherd, was found 10 to 15 feet from Betsy, in a closet of the bathroom. Two other dogs were found alive and healthy — one inside the house and one outside.
The bodies were discovered by 2 maintenance workers, who said they hadn't seen them in approximately 2 weeks. When the maintenance workers arrived to discover the bodies, the front door was ajar, but the deputy says there were no signs of forced entry.
We will have more on this as it develops.
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