There are still many unanswered questions about the deaths of beloved actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, but investigators may reveal more information Friday afternoon.
Hackman, 95, was found dead on Feb. 26 in the entryway of his Santa Fe home and Arakawa, 63, was found dead in a bathroom next to a space heater, according to a search warrant affidavit from Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office detectives. Their remains were found partially mummified in their New Mexico home, but investigators said recently they don’t suspect foul play and tests for carbon monoxide poisoning came back negative.
Sheriff Adan Mendoza and state fire, health and forensics officials scheduled an afternoon news conference Friday to provide updates on the case.
Mendoza has said the couple may have died up to two weeks before they were discovered on Feb. 26. Hackman’s pacemaker last showed activity Feb. 17, nine days before maintenance and security workers showed up at the home and alerted police.
Arakawa was found with an open prescription bottle and pills scattered on the bathroom counter, while Hackman lay dead in a different room.
Workers did find a “minuscule” gas leak at one of the stove burners, registering 0.33 per cent gas in the air, according to a sheriff’s office update earlier this week, which noted that the leak was not enough to be fatal.
The gas company also found four other “red tag” code violations involving three gas log lighters in fireplaces and one involving a water heater. The sheriff’s office said none of those issues involved a gas leak or carbon monoxide.
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The couple’s German shepherd, named Bear, survived along with a second dog named Nikita, but their kelpie mix, Zinna, died, according to Joey Padilla, owner of the Santa Fe Tails pet care facility involved in the surviving dogs’ care.
Authorities did not perform a necropsy on Zinna, who was found in a kennel in a bathroom closet near Arakawa, a sheriff’s office spokesperson said. Investigators initially noted the discovery of a “deceased brown in color German-Shepard canine,” misidentifying the breed of the dog.
Hackman’s nephew, Tim Hackman, spoke with Us Weekly following the deaths and said the family does not want to speculate before all the facts are available.
“We’re waiting on toxicology. That will tell us everything,” he said. “It’s hard to theorize. There are lots of theories out there and I don’t want to speculate. It’s easy to speculate negative theories.
“The family wants to keep it positive for now and when we know the truth we will deal with it.”
In a previous statement, Hackman’s daughters, Elizabeth and Leslie, and granddaughter Annie, said, “He was loved and admired by millions around the world for his brilliant acting career, but to us he was always just Dad and Grandpa. We will miss him sorely and are devastated by the loss.”
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— With files from Global News’ Katie Scott and The Associated Press
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
