Gene Hackman and his wife’s deaths alongside their dog have been branded “suspicious” by police, it’s been reported.
The Hollywood legend, 95, was found dead at their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico on Wednesday (February 26) alongside his classical musician wife Betsy Arakawa and their dog. An investigation is ongoing but police said they suspected no signs of foul play.
It’s now reported cops have requested a search warrant for their home as the deaths are “suspicious enough” to require a search and investigation. In the search warrant, obtained by TMZ, the detective who asked for the search warrant has written that he thinks “the death of the two deceased individuals to be suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation”.
It was said the reporting party found the front door of the Oscar winner’s property to be be “unsecured and opened”, that deputies found a healthy dog running loose on the property and another healthy dog. It was also claimed there were “no obvious signs of a gas leak” at the home.
It’s since been reported Hackman and his wife’s bodies were found partially mummified at the property. A police warrant, seen by Mail Online, said Arakawa was found decomposed with bloating on her face and mummification in her hands and feet.
It’s claimed Hackman had the same signs of decomposition as his wife. According to reports, Arakawa was found lying on the bathroom floor of the couple’s mansion and that Hackman was found in what appeared to be a mud room off of the couple’s kitchen.
It’s speculated the 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 his body. Back in early 2024, he was seen looking frail and walking with a stick during a rare public outing with Besty.
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 like 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, according to TMZ. However, this has not yet been confirmed.
It was previously reported that Gene, Betsy and their dog were found dead at home after a neighbour called police for a welfare check. Law enforcement attended the $3.8million mansion at around 1.45pm local time on Wednesday (February 26) to find the bodies.
It’s said formal identification took 12 hours, with it only being announced after midnight on Thursday. An official cause of death has not yet been announced.
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.”
During his 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
