Academy Award winner Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, died in February 2025 at the respective ages of 95 and 64.
Us Weekly confirmed on February 27, 2025, that the actor and his spouse were found dead one day earlier inside their shared Santa Fe, New Mexico house.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy. 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,” Hackman’s daughters and granddaughter told Us in a statement. “We will miss him sorely and are devastated by the loss.”
Hackman and Arakawa had been married since 1991. They are survived by Hackman’s children Christopher, Elizabeth and Leslie from his first marriage to late ex-wife Faye Maltese.
While Hackman retired from acting in 2004, he still wanted his prolific filmography to serve as his legacy.
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“[I want to be remembered] as a decent actor. As someone who tried to portray what was given to them in an honest fashion. I don’t know, beyond that,” Hackman, then 81, told GQ in a 2011 profile. “I don’t think about that often, to be honest. I’m at an age where I should think about it.”
Keep scrolling for everything to know so far about Hackman’s death:
When Were Gene Hackman and Wife Betsy Arakawa Found Dead?
Us confirmed on February 27, 2025, that Hackman and Arakawa had died the day before.
“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,” the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement shared with Us.
Why Were Police Officers Dispatched to Gene Hackman’s House?
The sheriff’s department had conducted a welfare check on Wednesday, where they discovered the couple’s bodies. According to NBC, it was a neighbor who initially requested the welfare check. The law enforcement officers subsequently gained entry to the pair’s house and pronounced Arakawa dead.
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Has a Cause of Death Been Determined?
An official cause of death has not yet been ruled.
“Foul play is not suspected as a factor in those deaths at this time, however, [the] exact cause of death has not been determined,” the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Department noted in a statement to Us. “This is an active and ongoing investigation by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.”
Hackman’s daughter Elizabeth told TMZ on February 27, 2025, that their family suspected he and Arakawa died from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Investigating Gene Hackman’s Death
Santa Fe County sheriff Adan Mendoza released a statement of his own, revealing that the department is in the midst of a “preliminary” investigation and was “waiting on approval of a search warrant.”
A search warrant would allow the police department access to Hackman and Arakawa’s residence to find out the cause of death.
After the sheriff’s department obtained a warrant on February 27, 2025, authorities reportedly called the circumstances “suspicious” in a copy obtained by TMZ.
A detective wrote in the affidavit: “The death of the two deceased individuals to be suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation because the reporting party found the front door of the residence unsecured and opened, deputies observed a healthy dog running loose on the property, another healthy dog near the deceased female, a deceased dog laying 10-15 feet from the deceased female in a closet of the bathroom, the heater being moved, the pill bottle being opened and pills scattered next to the female, the male decedent being located in a separate room of the residence, and no obvious signs of a gas leak.”
According to the docs, Arakawa was reportedly found lying unconscious next to a space heater and was in a reported “state of decomposition with bloating in her face and mummification in her hands and feet,” TMZ wrote Hackman, meanwhile, was located in a separate room, fully clothed with sunglasses next to him. TMZ reported that there is some suspicion that he fell.
Despite Hackman’s daughter’s suspicions, the fire department did not find evidence of a carbon monoxide leak: “As of now, there are no signs or evidence indicating there were any problems associated to the pipes in and around the residence.”
According to the sheriff’s department, carbon monoxide and toxicology tests were requested as they do not suspect any signs of foul play.
The Dogs
According to the affidavit, only one dog was found dead on the property and two other canines were found alive and healthy. The pup’s body was discovered by two maintenance workers, who arrived at the home to discover the front door slightly open. The workers had last seen Hackman and Arakawa two weeks prior.
