New details about the deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were revealed in a Friday, March 7, press conference.
“Mr. Hackman probably died around February 18,” Dr. Heather Jarrell, chief medical examiner for the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator, explained. “Based on the circumstances, it is reasonable to conclude that Mrs. Hackman died first, likely around February 11.”
Arakawa’s official cause of death is Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) while Hackman died due to hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease with Alzheimer’s disease as a significant contributing factor. “I think he died as a result of his heart disease with the Alzheimer’s being a contributing factor,” Dr. Jarrell said. She said it was difficult to say it was a heart attack but noted he’d had many heart attacks and heart procedures over the years.
Jarrell added that Hackman may not have realized his wife passed. “I can tell you that he was in an advanced state of all and it’s quite possible that he was not aware she was deceased.”
When asked if Hackman showed signs of starvation, the medical examiner noted that no food was found in his stomach but he was not dehydrated.
Hackman and Arakawa were found dead in their Santa Fe, New Mexico, home on February 26.
“On February 26, 2025, at approximately 1:45 p.m., Santa Fe County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to an address on Old Sunset Trail in Hyde Park where Gene Hackman, 95, and his wife Betsy Arakawa, 64, and a dog were found deceased,” the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office said in a February 27 statement to Us Weekly. “Foul play is not suspected as a factor in those deaths at this time, however, [the] exact cause of death has not been determined. This is an active and ongoing investigation by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.”
Hackman’s family subsequently confirmed the news in a statement to Us.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Gene Hackman, and his wife, Betsy,” Elizabeth, Leslie and Annie Hackman said. “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.”
Amid the investigation, police told TMZ that Arakawa’s body was “in a state of decomposition” with a bloated face and mummification in her hands and feet when she was found. Maintenance workers who discovered the couple’s bodies said they had not seen them in approximately two weeks. Arakawa was found in a bathroom, while Hackman was located in a separate room near the kitchen.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza shed new light on the pair’s deaths during a February 28 appearance on the Today show.
“It’s very difficult to put a timeline together even with the help of the office of the medical investigator,” Mendoza said. “Just based on their body and other evidence on the body, it looked — it appears [that they were deceased for] several days, even up to a couple of weeks.”
During a February 28 press conference, Mendoza revealed that Hackman’s pacemaker was last active on February 17, noting that it was “a very good assumption” Hackman died that day. He also confirmed that Hackman and Arakawa’s bodies tested negative for carbon monoxide exposure.
Read the full article here
