News | International
3 Mar 2025 23:16
NZCity News
NZCity CalculatorReturn to NZCity

  • Start Page
  • Personalise
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • Finance
  • Shopping
  • Jobs
  • Horoscopes
  • Lotto Results
  • Photo Gallery
  • Site Gallery
  • TVNow
  • Dating
  • SearchNZ
  • NZSearch
  • Crime.co.nz
  • RugbyLeague
  • Make Home
  • About NZCity
  • Contact NZCity
  • Your Privacy
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Join for Free

  •   Home > News > International

    Police are probing how Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa died. Here's what we know

    Hackman, his wife Betsy Arakawa and one of their three dogs were found dead by a maintenance worker who had arrived to do routine work at their Santa Fe home on Wednesday.


    Police are investigating after retired actor Gene Hackman and his wife were found dead in their home under "suspicious" circumstances.

    Here's what we know about their deaths. 

    Warning: This story contains descriptions of the scene some readers may find confronting.

    What happened to Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa?

    Hackman, 95, his wife Betsy Arakawa, 65, and one of their three dogs were found dead by a maintenance worker who had arrived to do routine work at their Santa Fe home on Wednesday.

    In a recording of the 911 call, the worker who discovered the scene can be heard telling police he spotted Ms Arakawa's body through a window. 

    According to an affidavit prepared by police to support a search warrant, Hackman was found in the home's mudroom — a small room near an entryway where shoes and jackets are stored. 

    A deputy observed that Hackman appeared to have fallen. A pair of sunglasses and a cane were on the floor nearby. 

    Ms Arakawa was found next to a fallen space heater in a bathroom, where an open prescription bottle and pills were scattered on a nearby countertop. 

    Police said a dead German shepherd was found in a bathroom closet. Two healthy dogs were also found on the property — one inside and one outside. 

    Investigators say they were dead for some time, noting mummification in Ms Arakawa's hands and feet.

    That refers to when a body's soft tissue has been preserved, often by environmental factors such as low humidity and cool conditions.

    The search warrant affadavit stated "the death of the two deceased individuals to be suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search investigation". 

    It noted the home's front door was "unsecured and opened". 

    The maintenance workers told police they rarely saw the couple when conducting routine maintenance, and kept in contact primarily through text messages and phone calls with Ms Arakawa. 

    They said they last had contact with the couple two weeks prior. 

    How did they die?

    Their cause of death has not yet been confirmed. 

    There was no indication they had been shot or had any wounds, nor any signs of an intruder. 

    At a press conference Thursday afternoon, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said police had not ruled foul play out. 

    "What I did state was there was no obvious sign or indication of foul play; there was no immediate sign of foul play," he told reporters. 

    "I haven't ruled that out yet. This is an investigation, so we're keeping everything on the table. 

    "I think the autopsy is going to tell us a lot, and any evidence we collect." 

    Speaking to TMZ, Hackman's daughter, Elizabeth Jean Hackman, suggested carbon monoxide poisoning may be to blame. 

    But there were no obvious signs of a gas leak. 

    The New Mexico Gas Co tested lines in and around the home, and the Fire Department found no signs of a carbon monoxide leak or poisoning. 

    "As of now, there are no signs or evidence indicating there were any problems associated to the pipes in and around the residence," New Mexico gas company reportedly stated.

    Who was Gene Hackman? 

    Hackman was considered among the best actors of his generation, appearing as villains, heroes and antiheroes from the 1960s until his retirement in the early 2000s. 

    The five-time Oscar nominee routinely showed up on lists of Hollywood's greatest actors of the 20th century. 

    He won Academy Awards for his roles in The French Connection and Unforgiven. 

    In recent years he was far less visible, though even the most mundane outings caught the attention of the press. 

    The Independent wrote about him attending a show at a performing arts centre in 2018. 

    The New York Post reported on him pumping gas, doing yard work and getting a chicken sandwich at a fast food restaurant in 2023.

    Aside from appearances at awards shows, he was rarely seen in the Hollywood social circuit and retired from acting about 20 years ago.

    "He was loved and admired by millions around the world for his brilliant acting career, but to us he was always just Dad and Grandpa. We will miss him sorely and are devastated by the loss," his daughters and granddaughter said in a statement Thursday.

    Who was Betsy Arakawa? 

    Ms Arakawa was a classically trained concert pianist and co-founder of a home furniture business. 

    She was raised in Honolulu and studied piano at an early age.

    At just 11 years old, she performed for 9,000 children at the Honolulu International Center Concert Hall, according to a 1971 report from the Honolulu Star-Bulletin newspaper. 

    In Santa Fe, she helped found Pandora's in 2001. The store's website describes Pandora's as "dealing in functional art, the art of life — what one lives in, sleeps in and wraps around one’s shoulders on a chilly day". 

    She and Hackman met in the mid-1980s at a gym in California, according to a 1989 story in The New York Times, and they married in 1991. 

    Where is New Mexico?

    [LINK: NM, Santa Fe map]

    New Mexico is a state in the south-west of the United States, between California and Texas. 

    It has a mild, arid climate and is considered one of the "mountain states", because the Rocky Mountains run through its north. 

    Santa Fe is the state's fourth-largest city and capital. 

    ABC/AP

    © 2025 ABC Australian Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved

     Other International News
     03 Mar: Oscars 2025 key moments: Mikey Madison upsets with Best Actress win and a singing speech for Best Original Song
     03 Mar: Quick and easy weeknight dinners with minimal prep
     03 Mar: UK and France to work on Ukraine peace plan as European leaders vow to re-arm
     03 Mar: Fears Asia-Pacific aviation boom could outpace capacity to keep passengers safe
     03 Mar: Warriors assistant coach Richard Agar under investigation by NRL after alleged clash with journalist in Las Vegas
     03 Mar: Australians Laura Peel, Josie Baff and Cam Bolton win World Cup gold
     03 Mar: How Trump the ‘master deal-maker’ failed when it came to negotiating with the Taliban in Afghanistan
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    Brumbies player Tuaina Tualima has been diagnosed with dengue fever after their Super Rugby Pacific match in Fiji last month More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    False economies: the evidence shows higher speed limits don’t make financial sense More...



     Today's News

    Rugby League:
    Roger Tuivasa-Sheck's given his positional switch the tick of approval - despite the Warriors lack-lustre start to the new NRL season 21:57

    Entertainment:
    Veteran actor Morgan Freeman is set to honour his late friend and co-star Gene Hackman during the 97th Academy Awards 21:34

    Law and Order:
    Police say the unexplained death of a woman in Auckland's Morningside last week, has been deemed not suspicious 21:17

    Entertainment:
    Oscars 2025 key moments: Mikey Madison upsets with Best Actress win and a singing speech for Best Original Song 21:07

    Entertainment:
    Gene Hackman's longtime friend Doug Lanham has spoken out following the shocking deaths of the two-time Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa - saying the actor was full of loveable mischief 21:04

    Entertainment:
    Katy Perry has paid tribute to her longtime hairstylist Jesus Guerrero 20:34

    Entertainment:
    Authorities investigating the deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife have admitted the circumstances surrouding their passing were "not normal" 20:04

    Entertainment:
    Princess Eugenie has paid tribute to her "special friend" Michelle Trachtenberg 19:34

    Entertainment:
    Jelly Roll returned to his old school to talk to students after a shooting took place there last month 19:04

    Boxing:
    Brumbies player Tuaina Tualima has been diagnosed with dengue fever after their Super Rugby Pacific match in Fiji last month 18:57


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2025 New Zealand City Ltd