Double Oscar winning actor Gene Hackman was found dead with his musician wife Betsy Arakawa and their pet dog at their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico on Wednesday (February 26)
Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were reportedly found partially mummified at their mansion.
The legendary Hollywood actor, 95, was found dead at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico on Wednesday (February 26) with his musician wife Betsy Arakawa, 63, and one of their dogs. Police said they suspected no signs of foul play and a cause of death has not been confirmed but an investigation is ongoing.
A police warrant has now revealed that Arakawa was “found decomposed with bloating on her face and mummification in her hands and feet”. The warrant, obtained by MailOnline, alleged Hackman had the “same signs of decomposition as his wife”.
According to the outlet, maintenance workers discovered the bodies of Hackman and Arakawa at their $3.3m (£2.61m) mansion and told investigators they hadn’t seen the couple for two weeks. Arakawa was reportedly found lying on the bathroom floor of the luxury property and Hackman was found in what appeared to be a mud room near the couple’s kitchen.
It’s believed the iconic actor may have died of a sudden fall as a walking cane was reportedly found next to his body and his glasses were thrown from it. In early 2024, the double Oscar winner was seen looking frail and walking with a stick during a rare public outing with Betsy.
Three German Shepherds were found at the home in total, one of which was sadly found deceased inside a kennel. According to TMZ, the front door of the double Oscar winner’s property was found to be “unsecured and opened”, and that deputies discovered a healthy dog running loose on the property and another dog which was alive.
It was also claimed there were “no obvious signs of a gas leak” at the home. The fire department detected no indication of a carbon monoxide leak or poisoning, according to a search warrant.
According to TMZ, cops have requested a search warrant for Hackman’s home as the deaths are “suspicious enough” to require a search and investigation. It’s said this is because the front door of the property was open, but there was no sign of forced entry into the home.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said cops are still investigating the deaths and aren’t ruling anything out. He said there were no obvious signs of trauma to the bodies and that a suicide note had not been found but that it seemed they had been “deceased for quite a while”.
Hackman’s daughter Elizabeth Jean Hackman said the family believe they might have died from carbon monoxide poisoning. She said police had found no signs of foul play but had revealed the bodies of the actor and his wife may have lain undiscovered for some time.
Confirming their deaths, Mendoza told Santa Fe New Mexican: “All I can say is that we’re in the middle of a preliminary death investigation, waiting on approval of a search warrant. We can confirm that both Gene Hackman and his wife were found deceased Wednesday afternoon at their residence on Sunset Trail.
“This is an active investigation – however, at this time we do not believe that foul play was a factor. I want to assure the community and neighbourhood that there’s no immediate danger to anyone.”
In a news conference on Thursday, Mendoza said: “It sounds like they had been deceased for quite a while, and I don’t want to guess in reference to how long that was.”
He added: “There was no immediate sign of foul play. Haven’t ruled that out yet. This is an investigation, so we’re keeping everything on the table.”
During his incredible acting career, Gene won two Oscars. The first was for Best Actor for playing Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle in The French Connection, and the second was for Best Supporting Actor as “Little” Bill Daggett in Clint Eastwood film Unforgiven.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
