Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead at their home last month, and now bodycam footage has been released from the scene as their bodies were found by police
Footage has been released from the scene when the bodies of Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found.
The couple was sadly found dead inside their Santa Fe home last month – their bodies were in separate rooms of the house and were partially decomposed and mummified. Authorities said Hackman died of coronary artery disease, with advanced Alzheimer’s disease listed as a contributing factor.
They believe the 95-year-old screen legend likely died on February 18, around seven days after Arakawa, who died from Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, a rare virus caused by exposure to infected rats. It’s believed Betsy, 65, died a week before Gene, who likely spent his final days alone, hungry and confused due to his Alzheimer’s.
Their dog Zinna was also found dead in a cage near to Betsy’s body, likely having died from dehydration and starvation. The other two dogs were found alive and roaming around the property – both have now been rescued.
Bodycam footage has now emerged from the scene, confirming the location of the dogs. According to the Associated Press, the footage also showed brief sightings of one of the dogs running in the wooded hills on their property.
A man who told officers he is a dog trainer who cared for the couple’s dogs has spoken about how much the couple loved their dogs, saying they were “nuts” about them. “There’s toys everywhere around the property,” he said.
In a separate video, Arakawa’s hairdresser told investigators that the pianist took her dogs with her everywhere. Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said Arakawa picked up Zinna from the vet after surgery on February 9 – this could explain why that dog was placed in a cage as it could have been recovering from the op.
The two surviving dogs, Bear and Nikita, appeared healthy and were then taken to Santa Fe Tails, run by Joey Padilla. Padilla has now revealed the dogs have been separated and taken to their permanent homes.
One of the dogs has been rehomed out-of-state, while the other is still living within New Mexico. Padilla confirmed the dogs are not living together.
Padilla has explained how Gene’s estate gave the okay for the dogs to be rehomed. “It is with great joy that, with the consent of the estate attorney, I and my staff at Santa Fe Tails have successfully found homes for the Hackmans’ surviving dogs, Bear and Nikita,” he told the Daily Mail.
He added: “We went through stringent efforts to ensure the best homes were found and the dogs have already begun settling into their new lives. We are all thankful for the concern and well wishes Bear and Nikita have received during their transition. It is our hope that everyone continues to wish them the best and honor their privacy so they can continue to heal.”
Hackman’s family have been granted a temporary restraining order blocking the release of any photographs and footage showing the bodies of Hackman and Arakawa inside of their home. A New Mexico court ruled in their favour last week, citing the family’s right to privacy in grief under the 14th Amendment.
The estate have also attempted to block the release of the autopsy and death investigation reports for the pair. This move has been deemed “atypical”. “Trying to block the autopsy report is very atypical, that is not something I have ever seen before,” an insider claimed.
“New Mexico doesn’t have an exemption for autopsy photos, and normally it’s not a concern, but when it comes to celebrity deaths, a lot of people will request them. So it’s common where family members of celebrities would use the New Mexico courts to block release of photos specifically. However, blocking the actual autopsy report, again, is highly unusual,” they told the US Sun.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
