By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-03-06 18:26:28 | Updated at 2025-03-06 22:21:17
4 hours ago
It has been a week since Hollywood legend Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were mysteriously found dead at their New Mexico home.
But the investigation by the the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office has raised more questions than answers.
The couple's mummified remains were discovered by two maintenance workers in separate rooms of their $3.8 million Santa Fe abode last Wednesday.
A cause of death has not been revealed for the actor, 95, and his pianist wife, 65, who most likely died nine days before their bodies were discovered, according to the Sheriff's Office.
Hackman was discovered lying on the ground of a mud room just off the kitchen with his sunglasses and cane nearby, indicating he may have fallen according to officials.
His wife was found lying on her side in the bathroom with a space heater next to her head. Unidentified prescription pills were strewn across a nearby countertop.
No cause of death for either has been given, with the bizarre and sometimes contradictory tidbits of information serving to fuel questions about the tragic mystery.
Are the deaths 'suspicious' or aren't they?
Confusion over whether the couple's deaths were 'suspicious' has clouded the investigation and amplified the mystery.
Hackman and Arakawa's deaths have been reported as such by multiple publications.
But Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza says there were no signs of foul play - although he has refused to completely rule the possibility out.
The 'suspicious' line comes from a request for a search warrant filed by Santa Fe County Detective Roy Arndt on the morning of February 27.
That was the day after Hackman and Betsy were found dead.
Ardnt detailed the observations of deputies Javier Baron and Joshua Thomas, who were called to the Hackman home by two maintenance workers who spotted the bodies.
That 911 call was made around 1:43pm on February 26.
Arndt says the Hackman's door being found ajar with no signs of forced entry was potentially suspicious.
The discovery of the bodies in two separate rooms, Betsy's surrounded by pills and a fallen space heater, further troubled him.
Actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead at their Sante Fe, New Mexico home last week
Arndt says the presence of one dead dog, alongside two living dogs, was another mystery that warranted potential criminal investigation.
Early on the morning of February 27, Mendoza told TMZ that the couple 'could have been victims of a double homicide, suicide, accidental death or natural causes.'
But when Sheriff Mendoza held a press conference on February 28, he announced the bodies showed no sign of foul play or trauma.
He added that he couldn't completely rule-out foul play but seemed keen to discount it as a possible cause.
Mendoza said an autopsy had shown Hackman's pacemaker stopped working February 17, nine days before he was discovered, and said that was likely when the actor died.
Full autopsy reports and toxicology tests could take another three to five weeks to be published.
The continued lack of conclusive information has spawned multiple theories, many of them disturbing.
Arndt's search warrant speculated that Hackman may have fallen and died, given the presence of sunglasses and a cane close to his body.
But investigators have been unable to say if the couple died at the same time, or if one died first.
Both bodies tested negative for carbon monoxide, making it less likely Hackman and Arakawa were slowly and unwittingly poisoned until they collapsed.
The ongoing vacuum of information has raised the question of whether Hackman fell and died before Arakawa, stricken by the loss of her husband, killed herself with pills in the bathroom.
Three medications were removed from the home, including Diltiazem, a blood pressure medication; a thyroid medication, and Tylenol, investigators say.
It is unclear which of those were found scattered near Arakawa.
Could the couple have made a suicide pact whereby Arakawa helped her frail husband to die first, before taking her own life?
Why did cops mix-up the dogs - and why did one die?
Cops initially said that one of their two German Shepherds had also died, however this was a mistake and it turned out their Kelpie mix Zinna was the dog who perished
Santa Fe Sheriff's Office admitted a blunder earlier this week which they insisted was an honest one.
But it has added fuel to the fire as questions over Hackman and Arakawa's deaths.
The dog found dead close to Arakawa was initially identified as a German Shepherd called Bear, in the search warrant affidavit signed on February 27.
But Bear survived, alongside a second dog called Nikita. The dog that actually died was a kelpie mix called Zinna.
Zinna 'was always attached to Betsy at the hip and it was a beautiful relationship,' according to local pet care facility owner Joey Padilla.
Padilla is now caring for Bear and Nikita, an Akita-shepherd mix.
Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office was not even aware of the mix-up until it was uncovered by USA Today, who approached deputies for comment on March 3.
They blamed it on the deputies who first attended the scene not being familiar with dog breeds.
'Our deputies do not deal with canines on a daily basis and I cannot currently speak to the condition or state of the dog’s body upon discovery,' Denise Womack-Avila told the outlet.
Zinna's death has been one of the most discussed parts of the tragedy. Various reports have said the dog was found in a 'crate' or 'kennel' in a closet near Arakawa's body.
USA Today reported that Zinna died in a closed crate, meaning the pet may have died of hunger or thirst.
Did Arawaka knowingly condemn Zinna to this horrific death? Did she find her husband dead and quickly kill herself in a fog of grief without thinking of her dog?
Or Hackman, Arakawa and Zinna die in another way that meant Arakawa couldn't have done anything to save her dog?
One of the couple's two other dogs was found next to Arawaka's body, with the second outside. A doggy door was installed in the house and likely let them scavenge for food and water.
But why was Zinna crated when the other two were not?
No signs of a gas leak - but is that conclusive proof?
Officials initially suspected a gas leak may have killed the couple but said initial tests ruled this out, however it has since emerged there was a 'miniscule leak'
A cause of death has not been revealed for the actor, 95, and his pianist wife, 65, who most likely died 10 days before their bodies were discovered, according to the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office
Shortly after the couple's deaths were announced, speculation became rampant that they may have succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning from a gas leak.
The theory was put forward the day after the bodies were found by Hackman's daughter, Elizabeth Jean Hackman, who posited that they may have died as a result of 'toxic fumes'.
Investigators also voiced their suspicions that a gas leak was to blame and summoned the local fire department.
Firefighters 'did not locate signs of a carbon monoxide leak or poisoning,' according to the affidavit.
However, a separate investigation by the New Mexico Gas Company on Monday uncovered five so-called 'red tags', including a 'miniscule leak' from a stove.
The tiny leak is not enough to have caused the deaths, according to to investigators.
The other red tags were issued for a water heater and log lighters in three fireplaces.
'Those results are not believed to be a factor in the deaths of Gene Hackman, Betsy Arakawa or their dog though the information was relayed to the Office of the Medical Investigator for consideration,' Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office said in a statement at the time.
Both bodies also tested negative for carbon monoxide, however the half life of the compound is so brief that it could become undetectable in the blood after a few hours.
Does that mean that carbon monoxide poisoning could indeed have killed Hackman, Arakawa and their dog?
But if that's the case - wouldn't the door found left ajar have helped dissipate the deadly gas inside the property?
And if one of Hackman's surviving dogs was found inside the property, why wasn't it poisoned?
If there was a gas leak, could it have come from a bottle rather than underground line, meaning the substance may have run out and disappeared during the suspected nine days between the couple's deaths and the discovery of their bodies?
Was the front door locked or ajar?
Maintenance workers who discovered the bodies told a 911 dispatcher that the home was locked, however a warrant noted that the door was ajar
Three medications were removed from the home, including Diltiazem, a blood pressure medication; a thyroid medication, and Tylenol, according to a search warrant. (Pictured: Hackman and Arakawa celebrating the actor's 94th birthday)
Confusion over whether the Hackman's mansion's door was locked or left ajar has further muddied the waters.
Audio of the 911 call made by maintenance worker Rowland Lowe Begay on the afternoon of February 26 saw Begay tell a dispatcher: 'The house is closed.
'It's locked. I can't go in but I can see she's laying on the floor.'
That audio contradicts claims made in the search warrant affidavit that saw the sheriff's deputies who arrived on the scene shortly after describe the door as 'ajar' and with no signs of forced entry.
The same warrant claimed the workers had reported the door as being ajar during the 911 call, despite audio evidence that has Begay describe it as locked.
There's no suggestion of any wrongdoing on the part of Begay or his colleague Jesse Kesler.
Might the two men have missed that the door was ajar because of the shock of seeing the two dead bodies?
Could Begay have described it as locked because he was worried about potentially being asked by the dispatcher to go inside and check on the ghastly sight before his eyes?
And if the door was left ajar by Hackman and Arakawa, does this suggest their deaths were sudden and unexpected - rather than some kind of suicide pact?
Questions have fueled theories - some of them wild
The tragic and gruesome deaths of an iconic actor and his wife have spawned multiple theories thanks to a lack of conclusive information on how they died.
Each has its supporters and detractors.
The idea the deaths are a 'murder suicide' has surfaced, however it has been rubbished by at least one non-affiliated expert.
James Gill, Chief Medical Examiner for the Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, shared on Tuesday with People that the theory is an unlikely explanation for the puzzling deaths.
Gill, who said he had dealt in the past with 'cases like that,' explained that couples who die in a dual suicide are 'usually ... together in bed.'
'The fact that they’re in two separate locations tells me that I think that’s less likely,' Gill continued.
The medical examiner said that the initial information about the scene makes it appear as if Hackman had 'collapsed'.
But he admitted that there was more of a 'gray area' around Arakawa's death.
He speculated that Zinna's death was likely due to 'just not getting enough food and water,' since the pooch was found in a locked crate.
Meanwhile, former FBI agent Bill Daly told Fox News that investigators could even look into the possibility of food poisoning.
'Toxicology – there could have been some other type of poisoning, possibly food? They'll go through their trash, fridge … this is stuff the police can do in the meantime while gathering evidence,' he said.
Hollywood actor Randy Quaid also spoke out on the deaths to claim Hackman and Arakawa were murdered.
The National Lampoons' star says the pair were murdered 'like Heath Ledger' with the killers then covering up their crime scene.
Ledger wasn't murdered, but instead died of an accidental drug overdose in 2008 aged just 28.
While few, if any, are taking the murder theory seriously, the continued lack of information about the deaths has sparked wild questions and speculation that cops can only hope to answer by publishing full autopsy reports.
