Grim details from inside the home of Academy Award winner Gene Hackman has been revealed after he was found dead alongside his wife Betsy Arakawa and their dog at their Santa Fe mansion. The couple, who have been married for 34 years, were found partially-mummified at their home, with pills strewn in their bathroom.
An arrest warrant revealed Betsy, 64, was found decomposed with bloating on her face and mummification in her hands and feet. Mummification occurs when a person's skin and tissues are preserved after their death. Sheriffs said Hackman was found to have the same signs of decomposition as his wife, but was found separate to her inside the home. Two maintenance workers called Roland Lowe Begay and Jesse Kesler discovered the bodies of Arakawa and her retired Hollywood star husband at their luxurious million Santa Fe mansion Wednesday at 1:46pm Mountain Time.
Begay and Kesler told investigators they hadn't seen them for two weeks. Both appear to have been dead for some time. Betsy was discovered lying on the bathroom floor of the couple's home on her right side, with an open prescription bottle of pills scattered across a nearby countertop. No indication has been given as to what the pills were and whether they had been prescribed to Hackman or his wife.
A space heater was found next to her head, which investigators believe may have fallen. Meanwhile, Gene was found dead in a mud room off the couple's kitchen, the warrant said. The Oscar-winning Superman star was fully clothed, in grey sweat pants, a blue in color long-sleeve t-shirt, brown slippers. His sunglasses and walking cane were found next to his body, suggesting he may have died of a sudden fall.
Betsy was wearing dark grey sweatpants and a light-coloured sweatshirt. Gene's daughter speculated that her father and stepmother may have been killed in a carbon monoxide leak, but firefighters could find no sign of a gas leak. Earlier reports had suggested the animal was found dead in a kennel. The couple's two other dogs were unharmed. One of the surviving dogs was found alive close to Betsy's body, with a second roaming the property.
"On February 26, 2025 at approximately 1:45 p.m., Santa Fe County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to an address on Old Sunset Trail in Hyde Park where Gene Hackman, 95 and his wife Betsy Arakawa, 64 and a dog were found deceased," police said in a statement.
"Foul play is not suspected as a factor in those deaths at this time however exact cause of death has not been determined. This is an active and ongoing investigation by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.". Gene had previously opened up about his scenic Santa Fe home in an interview with Architectural Digest back in 1990, having remodelled his house on twelve acres of hilltop land with a 360-degree view.
The 1950s block building was renovated for Gene and his wife Betsy into a "part pueblo, part colonial New Mexico, part Spanish Baroque" property. "It had a kind of magic in it," Gene said in the interview. " It's totally different from my other houses. The Montecito house was very formal.".
Gene had lived in a number of impressive properties throughout his life, including a home in Montecito located on 25 acres of land. "We spent a year and a half on it and it gives me a great deal of pleasure," he told Architectural Digest in 1982 of the home he shared with ex-wife Faye Maltese. "Continuing pleasure, you might say, because we are always working on it.".
Over the course of his six decade career, Gene took home two Oscars, two BAFTAs and four Golden Globe Awards for his roles in highly-acclaimed films The French Connection and Unforgiven. Speaking to GQ in 2011, Gene shared that he doesn't keep many of his awards around the house.
He told the publication: "There isn't any movie stuff except a poster downstairs next to the pool table of Errol Flynn from Dawn Patrol. I'm not a sentimental guy.". Gene was last seen in March 2024 with his wife Betty in Santa Fe, leaving a 7-Eleven in a pair of cargo pants with a coffee in one hand and an apple pie in another. Earlier in the month, he had been spotted on a solo outing near his luxury home as he worked in his garden.
