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    For Gene Hackman, a Jarring End to a Quiet, Art-Filled Life in Santa Fe

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    Mr. Hackman, who was found dead with his wife and one of their dogs, had written novels and painted since leaving Hollywood behind for retirement in New Mexico.Years after Gene Hackman retired from acting, he was at dinner with a friend in New Mexico who wanted to know how actors were able to cry on cue.“He put his head down at the table for about 30 seconds and raised his head up and there are tears coming down,” the friend, Doug Lanham, recalled. “He looked at me and goes, ‘How do you like that?’”After a long career in movies that won him two Oscars and the admiration of generations of film lovers, Mr. Hackman left Hollywood behind for Santa Fe, where he spent his final decades enjoying its striking scenery, trying his hand at painting and writing novels while living what appeared to be a quiet but full life with his wife, Betsy Arakawa.He played an active role in the city’s civic and social life during his early years there before slowing down and growing a bit more reclusive as he entered his late 80s and then his 90s, friends said. Some had been expecting to get word of his death from Ms. Arakawa one of these days.So it was shocking for them to learn this week that Mr. Hackman, 95, had been found dead in the mud room of his home in Santa Fe and that Ms. Arakawa, 65, had been found dead in a bathroom near an open prescription bottle and scattered pills. One of the couple’s dogs, a German shepherd, was found dead in a nearby closet.The caller described seeing a body on the floor and urged emergency services to quickly send help.Mark J. Terrill/Associated PressWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      The Search Warrant Affidavit in Gene Hackman Death Inquiry

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      other image(s) documented on any media, photography and/or videography
      equipment, photography and/or videography accessories and/or devises apparently
      used to facilitate photography and/or videography.
      7. Clothing belonging or worn by Eugene “Gene” Allen Hackman or Betsy Arakawa.
      8. Photographs of the residence, including the interior and exterior.
      9. Latent and/or visible print(s), including but not limited to fingerprint(s) and
      footwear impression(s).
      10. Material(s) apparently used and/or intended for use in administering aid and/or
      assistance to injured people.
      11. Any weapon(s), tool(s) and/or instrument(s) capable of causing sharp force trauma
      to the human body. Document(s) that establish or tend to establish ownership,
      possession, use, transfer and/or the right to ownership, possession, use and/or
      transfer of the herein-described item(s), to be seized.
      12. Any weapon(s), tool(s) and/or instrument(s) capable of causing blunt force trauma
      to the human body. Document(s) that establish or tend to establish ownership,
      possession, use, transfer and/or the right to ownership, possession, use and/or
      transfer of the herein-described item(s), to be seized.
      13. Any item(s) and/or material(s) that have what appear to be impression(s), mark(s),
      and/or defect(s) on said item(s) and/or material(s).
      14. Any record documented in any media, which appears to be a password, personal
      identification number, item(s) and/or information used to access and/or facilitate
      access of said item(s), to be searched.
      15. Biological fluids, to include DNA, blood, or trace evidence.
      16. Telephones and/or cellular telephones.
      17. In order to ensure that a complete and thorough investigation, investigators may be required
      to examine the entire, above-mentioned premises, including, but not limited to, the
      examination of furniture, walls, plumbing equipment, or gas lines in or around the
      residence.
      AND THAT THE FACTS TENDING TO ESTABLISH THE FOREGOING GROUNDS
      FOR THE ISSUANCE OF A SEARCH WARRANT ARE AS FOLLOWS:
      Affiant, Detective Roy Arndt, is a full-time, certified peace officer in the State of New
      Mexico who has attended the Mexico Law Enforcement Academy. He is currently
      commissioned and salaried by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office, where he serves as a
      Detective in the Criminal Investigations Division. Affiant has conducted numerous
      criminal investigations that led to the arrest and conviction of person(s) and currently has
      over 15 years of law enforcement experience.
      The facts set forth in this affidavit are based upon Affiant’s personal observations,
      training and experience, and information obtained from other law enforcement officers
      and civilian witnesses. This affidavit is made for the sole purpose of demonstrating
      probable cause for the issuance of the requested warrant and does not purport to set forth
      all Affiant’s knowledge of, or investigation into, this matter. All times depicted in this
      writing are approximate.
      STATEMENT OF FACTS KNOWN TO AFFIANT:
      At approximately 1:43 p.m. on Wednesday, February 26th, 2025, Santa Fe Regional Emergency
      Communications Center (RECC) received a call for service regarding a reporting party (RP)
      locating two (2) deceased individuals inside the residence of 1425 Old Sunset Trail, Santa Fe,
      New Mexico 87501.
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      Scattered Pills Found Near Body of Gene Hackman’s Wife as Inquiry Continues

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      The sheriff’s office in Santa Fe County, N.M., is investigating after the actor Gene Hackman, his wife and one of their dogs were found dead inside their home.The actor Gene Hackman was found dead in a mud room in his New Mexico home and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, was found dead on the floor of a bathroom on Wednesday, according to a search warrant affidavit. An open prescription bottle and scattered pills were discovered near her body on a counter in the bathroom.A dead German shepherd was found between 10 and 15 feet away from Ms. Arakawa in a closet of the bathroom, the affidavit said. There were no obvious signs of a gas leak in the home, it said, and the Fire Department did not find signs of a carbon monoxide leak. The maintenance workers who found them said they had not been in contact with the couple for two weeks.The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on Thursday afternoon that “there were no apparent signs of foul play.”Autopsies on Mr. Hackman and Ms. Arakawa were performed on Thursday, the sheriff’s office said. There was no initial sign of external trauma to either of them. Carbon monoxide tests and toxicology tests were requested for both of them, it said, but the results were still pending and the causes of their deaths had not been determined.“This remains an open investigation,” the sheriff’s office said.Detective Roy Arndt wrote in the search warrant affidavit that Ms. Arakawa was found lying on her side on the bathroom floor with a space heater near her head, the affidavit said. The deputy who found her said he suspected that the heater could have fallen with Ms. Arakawa, the filing said.Ms. Arakawa’s body showed signs of decomposition, the affidavit said, as well as “mummification in both hands and feet.” The dead dog was found near her in a closet, and two other dogs were found alive on the property. Mr. Hackman’s body was then found, and showed signs of death “similar and consistent” with his wife’s body.Read the Search Warrant Affidavit in the Gene Hackman Death InquiryAn affidavit from a Santa Fe County detective described how deputies found the bodies of Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, on Wednesday.Read DocumentWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Alec Baldwin’s ‘Rust’ to Premiere: What to Know About the Movie Marked by Tragedy

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      The film, whose cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, was killed in a shooting on the set, is being screened at a festival devoted to cinematography.It was just over three years ago that Alec Baldwin was practicing drawing a gun on the set of the western “Rust” in New Mexico when it went off, firing a live round that killed its cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, and wounded its director, Joel Souza.The fatal shooting resulted in criminal cases, lawsuits and a reassessment of the use of real guns in Hollywood. In the midst of it all the movie was completed in Montana, with a new cinematographer and only fake weapons allowed on the set, by a team that said it wanted to ensure that Ms. Hutchins’s final work reached the screen.On Wednesday, the 133-minute-long film will have its world premiere at a small if starry film festival in Torun, Poland, called Camerimage, which is devoted to the art of cinematography. Here’s what to know about the unusual event.Will Alec Baldwin be there?Though Mr. Baldwin stars in the film, as a grizzled outlaw named Harland Rust, he is not expected to be in the audience on Wednesday.The film’s main spokesman at the festival will be its director, Mr. Souza, who was injured in the shooting when the bullet passed through Ms. Hutchins and lodged in his shoulder. Mr. Souza completed the project after Ms. Hutchins’s widower, Matthew Hutchins, gave it his blessing and stepped in as an executive producer.“It became very important to me to finish that on her behalf,” Mr. Souza said in an interview this year. “I would never presume to want to speak for somebody who can’t speak for themselves anymore, but I feel pretty damn confident that’s what she would have wanted.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Two Bee Gees Drummers Die Within Days

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      Colin “Smiley” Petersen, the original drummer, and Dennis Bryon, who played during the band’s disco heyday, died within four days of each other.Two drummers for the Bee Gees — one during the long-running Anglo-Australian pop group’s early days of hit-making ballads, the other during its white-hot disco superstardom — died four days apart, according to posts from a tribute band and former bandmates.Dennis Bryon, 76, the Bee Gees’ drummer starting in 1973, died on Nov. 14, according to Blue Weaver, who played in the band Amen Corner with Mr. Bryon. He announced his death on Facebook on Thursday, but gave no cause of death for Mr. Bryon.Colin “Smiley” Petersen, the band’s first professional drummer, died on Nov. 18 at the age of 78, according to Evan Webster and Sue Camilleri, who work on The Best of The Bee Gees Show, a tribute band. Mr. Petersen died from a fall, they said.Mr. Petersen, who joined the Bee Gees in 1967, played on the band’s first four albums. He started playing in the The Best of The Bee Gees Show five years ago, Mr. Webster said.Mr. Petersen played on a string of hit ballads from 1967 to 1970, including “Massachusetts,” “To Love Somebody,” “I’ve Gotta Get a Message to You,” “I Started a Joke” and “Words.” He was also a child actor, known for his role in the 1956 film “Smiley,” which was the origin of his nickname, among a few other movies in the late ’50s.In a 2022 interview with The Strange Brew Podcast, Mr. Peterson said that the band would always create songs together in the studio.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Pilot Killed in New Mexico Air Show Crash Instructed ‘Top Gun’ Actors

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      Charles Thomas “Chuck” Coleman was a flight instructor who prepared actors for the 2022 action movie “Top Gun: Maverick,” which starred Tom Cruise and Miles Teller.An accomplished test pilot who was a flight instructor for the cast of the 2022 movie “Top Gun: Maverick” died in a crash of a small plane during an air show in New Mexico on Sunday, the authorities said.The pilot, Charles Thomas “Chuck” Coleman, 61, was the only person onboard the single-engine Extra Flugzeugbau 300/L plane when it crashed during a performance at the Las Cruces Air and Space Expo around 2:30 p.m. local time on Sunday, according to Las Cruces city officials and the Federal Aviation Administration.The show, a display of aerobatic performances, helicopters, airplanes and spacecraft, was held at Las Cruces International Airport and ended after the crash. The airport was also temporarily closed on Sunday, according to the city.“Unfortunately, we had a tragic ending to our Air and Space Expo this weekend,” Mayor Eric Enriquez of Las Cruces said in a statement posted to social media on Monday. Las Cruces is a city of about 111,000 residents in southern New Mexico.“We would like to extend our deepest condolences to the loved ones and fans of Chuck Coleman,” he added.The cause of the crash is being investigated by New Mexico State Police, the F.A.A. and the National Transportation Safety Board, the city said.Las Cruces officials said that Mr. Coleman, who was based in California, was “a well known and respected engineer, aerobatic and test pilot” with more than 10,000 hours of flight time. He had also performed at hundreds of air shows and had provided more than 3,000 rides in aerobatic aircraft, according to his official website.Mr. Coleman was an aerobatic flight instructor for the actors in the 2022 action movie “Top Gun: Maverick,” which starred Tom Cruise as Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, who trains a group of eager young combat pilots for a dangerous mission. The movie also starred Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly and Val Kilmer.“He flew 140 flights in order to prepare the actors to fly in Navy F-18 Hornets,” Mr. Coleman’s website stated. On his Instagram page, Mr. Coleman posted a photo of Mr. Teller in a flight suit and said that the actor had flown with him for 12 training flights or about 14 hours to prepare for the Navy jets.The movie was the sequel to the 1986 blockbuster “Top Gun,” which followed a group of young pilots at the Navy’s elite fighter weapons school, also known as Top Gun.Mr. Coleman also worked on the film productions of “The Round and Round” (2002) and “First in Flight” (2012), and appeared in the 2009 documentary “Air Racer: Chasing the Dream,” according to IMDb.com.Kirsten Noyes contributed research. More

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      Liam Payne’s Cause of Death, the 911 Call and More: What We Know

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      A hotel desk manager called 911 with concerns about Payne, the former One Direction singer, shortly before he fell from a third-floor balcony. The results of toxicology reports are pending.Liam Payne, a former singer in the popular British boy band One Direction, died on Wednesday after falling from a third-floor balcony at a hotel in Buenos Aires.Payne’s family released a statement on Thursday asking for privacy. “We are heartbroken,” the family said. “Liam will forever live in our hearts and we’ll remember him for his kind, funny and brave soul.”Here is what we know about the circumstances of his death, which led to an outpouring of grief from fans, and the ensuing investigation.A 911 call was made moments before his death.The Buenos Aires police released a recording of a 911 call that was placed minutes before Payne’s death from the CasaSur Palermo Hotel, where he was staying.A man who identified himself as the hotel desk manager said on the call that a guest who appeared to have excessively consumed drugs and alcohol was “breaking everything in the room.” The manager requested urgent assistance because the room had a balcony and hotel employees were “afraid he could do something that puts his life at risk.”A spokesman for the Buenos Aires police said on Thursday that the guest was Payne, 31.The local prosecutor’s office, which is investigating the death, said in a statement that it appeared Payne was alone when he died. It said investigators found broken objects and furniture in his hotel room, as well as what appeared to be narcotics and alcohol. The results of toxicology tests will most likely not be made public for several weeks.An autopsy said Payne died of ‘multiple trauma.’In an autopsy performed a few hours after Payne’s death, forensic experts determined that he died from falling out of a window and that there were no signs of anyone else being involved. It is not clear whether Payne intentionally jumped or accidentally fell from the third floor.The autopsy report was submitted to the prosecutor’s office, which said it indicated that Payne died of “multiple trauma” and “internal and external bleeding” in the skull, chest and abdomen and limbs.The prosecutor’s office indicated that, because of the position in which the body was discovered and the 25 injuries he sustained, officials presume that Payne did not try to protect himself from the fall and may have fallen into a state of unconsciousness.No defensive wounds were found on the body.The prosecutor’s office said that it was investigating the death as a matter of protocol because of the circumstances, but that no defensive injuries were found on Payne’s body.Five people were interviewed at the prosecutor’s office, the authorities said, including two women who had been with Payne earlier Wednesday but had left the hotel before his death. They also interviewed three hotel workers. More

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      Liam Payne Tributes Pour in From Charlie Puth, the Backstreet Boys and Other Musicians

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      Hours after news broke that Payne had fallen from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, his fans and collaborators shared their shock and grief.The pop world on Thursday was struggling to come to terms with the passing of Liam Payne, 31, who rose to fame as a member of the British boy band One Direction. Payne died on Wednesday after falling from the balcony of a hotel in Argentina.Fans gathered outside the hotel in Buenos Aires where Payne had been staying to mourn his death, including by singing One Direction hits, while on social media many posted tributes and memories.Some of pop music’s biggest stars did the same. Charlie Puth, the pop singer and songwriter, posted on Instagram, that he was “in shock” at the news. Payne was “one of the first major artists I got to work with. I cannot believe he is gone,” Puth added.Payne in Dubai in 2023.Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Atlantis The Royal“Words cannot express the emotions we are collectively feeling right now,” the Backstreet Boys wrote on X, adding “our hearts go out to Liam’s family, friends and Directioners around the world.”“Life is short and fragile,” the German DJ Zedd, who released the song “Get Low” with Payne in 2017, wrote on social media. “RIP Liam … I can’t believe this is real …”The reaction was especially strong in Britain, where Payne built his career. Among those to express condolences on social media were his childhood school and West Bromwich Albion, the soccer team Payne supported.Payne first auditioned on the British talent show “The X Factor” as a solo artist in 2008, but found success when he returned in 2010, even though the group placed third in the show. Simon Cowell, the music executive and television personality, created One Direction by bringing Payne together with Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson. In 2011, One Direction’s debut single, “What Makes You Beautiful,” hit No. 4 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. The band released five albums and became one of the defining boy bands of the early 2010s. In 2015, One Direction announced it would take a break from performing together, and the group officially split up a year later.As of Thursday morning, none of Payne’s former bandmates had issued public reactions to the news of his death, and their representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A representative for Cowell also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.But on Instagram, Styles’s mother, Anne Twist, posted a picture of a broken heart emoji, with the caption “Just a boy …” More

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      Liam Payne, 31, Former One Direction Singer, Dies in Fall in Argentina

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      Payne, who was one of the group’s standout singers, fell from the third floor of a hotel in Buenos Aires, emergency services officials said.Liam Payne, who rose to fame as a singer and songwriter for the British group One Direction, one of the best-selling boy bands of all time, died after falling from the third floor of a hotel in Buenos Aires on Wednesday. He was 31.His death was confirmed by Alberto Crescenti, the director of emergency services in Buenos Aires. The circumstances of the fall were unclear.One Direction burst onto the scene in 2011 when the group’s debut single, “What Makes You Beautiful,” hit No. 4 on Billboard’s Hot 100. Five of its other songs reached the chart’s Top 10, including “Story of My Life,” “Drag Me Down” and “Live While We’re Young.”The group, which had 29 total hits on Billboard’s Hot 100, would go on to release five albums and become one of the definitive boy bands of the 2010s, largely by eschewing the sleek precision and polish of an earlier generation of pop vocal groups.One Direction announced in 2015 that it was taking a break from performing as an ensemble, and each of the artists has since invested most of their time in their solo careers. “It’s just a break 🙂 we’re not going anywhere !!,” Louis Tomlinson, one of the band’s members, posted on Twitter at the time. We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More