Legendary actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead at their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico last week, and there are still many unanswered questions
Gene Hackman’s friends have spoken out about the star’s health in the lead up to his death.
The Oscar winner, 95, was found dead at his Santa Fe home in New Mexico last week with wife Betsy Arakawa, 65, and one of their dogs. Their bodies were discovered in separate rooms of the property, decomposed and partially mummified, with no obvious signs of trauma.
Santa Fe cops are investigating the bizarre triple death and deemed it “suspicious enough” to require a search of the property. An official cause of death has not yet been revealed and no foul play is suspected, but police aren’t ruling anything out.
Friends of Hackman have now claimed the star’s health was deteriorating in the months prior to his death. Daniel and Barbara Lenihan said the actor’s health was “really slipping” and that he was “essentially kind of home-bound”.
Barbara said he stopped riding his bike around the neighbourhood a year ago. Daniel and Barbara’s son Aaron said Gene did puzzles and yoga every day and that “Betsy tried to keep him kind of active and engaged.”
“She was still trying to keep him as active and engaged and healthy as possible,” Aaron claimed to People Magazine. Daniel and Barbara suggested in the last few months Gene “was really slipping there.”
Barbara said Betsy was in “perfect health” and made sure she stayed fit and healthy. Aaron added: “She was very protective of him in terms of COVID, so she’d always wear a mask when we’d see her out.”
He described Gene and Betsy as “real life partners.” Aaron said the pair were “really, really close to each other, and they were both incredibly kind.”
This contradicts what Gene’s daughter Leslie said about the Hollywood icon. She said “there was no indication that there was any problem” with her father before his death and insisted he was “in very good physical condition” despite his age.
“He liked to do Pilates and yoga,” Leslie told Mail Online. “He was continuing to do that several times a week. So he was in good health.” She also explained he hadn’t had any major surgeries in the months leading up to his death, but admitted she hadn’t heard from him in a few months.
Investigators believe Gene and Betsy died around 10 days before they were found as Hackman’s pacemaker last recorded an event on February 17. Both of their bodies showed the “same signs of decomposition”.
Besty was found lying on the bathroom floor of the property and Hackman was in a mud room near to the couple’s kitchen. It’s suspected Hackman could have died of a sudden fall as a walking cane was found next to his body, as well as a pair of sunglasses.
They also believe Besty could have fallen as a portable heater was next to Betsy’s head. This could have been brought down if she, too, had fallen suddenly.
The bodies tested negative for carbon monoxide poisoning and there were no signs of a gas leak, despite a theory this could have caused their deaths. The search warrant said the deaths are “suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation” as the worker who found the bodies had found the front door of Hackman’s mansion to be open.
However, there was no evidence of forced entry into the property. The detective noted seemed out of place inside of the mansion and that there was no indication that any belongings had been removed or rummaged through.
At a press conference on Friday, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza was asked if the pills scattered by Betsy’s body in the bathroom could have caused her death. He refused to reveal what the pills were, who they belonged to and whether or not they were prescription.
However, he did describe them as “important evidence” and confirmed they’d passed them onto an expert for further investigation. He added: “I think they are important for the pathologist to consider to try and make a determination what the cause ands manner of death are.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
