Hollywood legend Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa were found deceased at their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico this week and police have been investigating their mysterious deaths
Police are reportedly set to question Gene Hackman’s family members in a bid to find out more about the actor’s mysterious death. The Hollywood legend, 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. Their bodies were decomposed and partially mummified and discovered in separate rooms of the property, with no obvious signs of trauma.
Police have revealed the couple died around 10 days before they were discovered inside of their mansion. There were no signs of a gas leak and the bodies tested negative for carbon monoxide poisoning, despite a theory this could have caused their deaths.
Cops are currently investigating their deaths and believe the circumstances are “suspicious enough” to require a search warrant which has now been executed on the property. This was obtained because the front door of Hackman’s mansion was open, although there were no signs of forced entry into the home and no signs of items out of place.
It’s now been revealed police will be speaking to Hackman’s family members in a bid to uncover more information about Gene and Betsy’s final movements. Police confirmed to the Mirror they are speaking to “family members” of the actor as part of their probe into his mysterious death.
Cops suspect no “immediate” signs of foul play but have not ruled anything out at this stage. At a news conference on Friday (February 28), Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said this “is an active investigation still”.
It comes after Gene’s daughter Leslie broke her silence on the reclusive actor’s death and admitted she hadn’t heard from him in months as she lives in California. However, she insisted he was in good physical condition despite his age.
“Despite his age, he was in very good physical condition,” she told Mail Online before explaining he did not have any major surgeries in the months leading up to his death. “He liked to do Pilates and yoga, and he was continuing to do that several times a week. So he was in good health.”
“We were close,” Leslie added. “I hadn’t talked to them for a couple months, but everything was normal and everything was good,”
Hackman had two daughters, Leslie and Elizabeth, and one son with ex-wife Faye Maltese. The couple divorced in 1986 and Hackman married Betsy in 1991.
Besty was found lying on the bathroom floor and Hackman’s body was near the couple’s kitchen. A police warrant revealed that his wife was “found decomposed with bloating on her face and mummification in her hands and feet” and that Gene had the “same signs of decomposition as his wife”.
Detectives suspect the Oscar winner may have died of a sudden fall as a walking cane was reportedly found next to his body as well as glasses. They also believe Besty could have fallen as a portable heater was discovered near to Betsy’s head, which could have been brought down if she, too, had suddenly fallen to the ground.
The local fire department and local utility company found no signs of a gas leak in the area and no suggestion of a carbon monoxide leak or poisoning. Police have assured residents that there’s “no immediate danger to anyone”.
Three dogs were seen at the property – one was dead in a bathroom closet, close to Betsy’s body. The other two dogs were found alive and healthy and roaming the property, one inside and one out.
An initial autopsy has been performed and “no external trauma” was found on the bodies of either Gene or Betsy, and an official cause of death has not yet been determined. It was, however, found that Hackman’s pacemaker had stopped working on February 17.
Gene won two Oscars during his incredible acting career. 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
