Mystery has clouded the deaths of celebrated actor Gene Hackman and his wife, pianist Betsy Arakawa, both of whom were found dead and decomposing inside their New Mexico home under what authorities described as “suspicious” circumstances.
Autopsies conducted on both bodies Thursday did not determine any cause or manner of death, but sheriff’s officials noted they were still waiting on carbon monoxide and toxicology test results.
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Investigators earlier said there was no indication the couple had been shot or suffered any other wounds.
Deputies responded to the couple’s mansion in Santa Fe on Wednesday to perform a wellness check, after receiving an emergency call from a pair of maintenance workers, who said they found the front door open and two people dead inside the residence.
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When authorities arrived around 1:45 p.m., they found Hackman, wearing a blue T-shirt, gray sweatpants and slippers, lying in the mudroom near his cane and a pair of sunglasses, according to a search warrant affidavit obtained by TMZ. One of the deputies noted that it appeared the actor had “suddenly fallen.”
Arakawa was on the floor of the bathroom by an open prescription bottle with “pills scattered” on a nearby countertop, per the documents. A German Shepherd was also discovered dead in the bathroom closet some 10 to 15 feet from Arakawa’s body, which “showed obvious signs of death,” including “decomposition, bloating in her face and mummification in both hands and feet.”
Hackman’s body too showed signs “similar and consistent with the female decedent,” the affidavit said. It’s unclear how long they’d been dead, but authorities said Thursday it appeared to have been for “quite a while.”
Authorities initially said foul play was not suspected, then said they were no longer so certain. But by Thursday evening, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza appeared to walk back that uncertainty.
“There was no indication of a struggle,” Mendoza said in a press conference. “There was no indication of anything that was missing from the home or disturbed, you know, that would be indication that there was a crime that had occurred.”
“It sounds like they had been deceased for a while, and I don’t want to take a guess in reference for how long that was,” Mendoza said.
Still, without knowing the circumstances of how the couple died, an investigation is ongoing.
The Santa Fe detective who sought the search warrant wrote he believed the circumstances were “suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation,” specifically citing the fact that there were “no obvious signs of a gas leak” that could lead to poisoning.
Santa Fe County deputies remain outside the house belonging to actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were earlier found dead, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025 in Santa Fe, N.M. (AP Photo/Roberto E. Rosales)
In a statement to TMZ, the New Mexico Gas Co. said they hadn’t found any “signs or evidence indicating there were any problems associated to the pipes in and around the residence.”
The local fire department also said its crews found nothing to suggest a carbon monoxide leak or poisoning had occurred.
In calling the circumstances “suspicious,” detectives emphasized the fact that the front door of the home was found open, and that “deputies observed a healthy dog running loose on the property” and a second “healthy dog” near the bodies of Arakawa and the German Shepherd.
