Santa Fe Archives - The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle

Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa’s dog likely died of dehydration and starvation, report says

Associated Press — Sat, 15 Mar 2025 22:00:00 +0000

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — An examination of the dog found dead along with actor Gene Hackman and his wife in their Santa Fe home shows dehydration and starvation were likely what led to the animal’s demise.

A report obtained by The Associated Press from the Santa Fe County animal control agency details partial mummification and noted that while the severe decomposition could have obscured changes in the organs, there was no evidence of infectious disease, trauma or poisoning that could have resulted in death.

The report noted that the dog’s stomach was mostly empty except for small amounts of hair and bile.

The kelpie mix named Zinna was one of the couple’s three dogs. It was found dead in a crate in a bathroom closet near Betsy Arakawa’s body, while two other dogs survived.

Authorities confirmed last week that Hackman died of heart disease with complications from Alzheimer’s disease about a week after a rare, rodent-borne disease — hantavirus pulmonary syndrome — took the life of his wife. Hackman, in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s, apparently was unaware that his wife was dead.

Hackman was found in the home’s entryway, and Arakawa was found in a bathroom. Like the dog, their bodies were decomposing with some mummification, a consequence of body type and climate in Santa Fe’s especially dry air at an elevation of nearly 7,200 feet (2,200 meters).

Zinnia went from being a returned shelter dog to an incredible companion that was always at Arakawa’s side, said Joey Padilla, owner of the Santa Fe Tails pet care facility that was involved in the surviving dogs’ care.

Arakawa, born in Hawaii, studied as a concert pianist, attended the University of Southern California and met Hackman in the mid-1980s while working at a California gym.

Hackman, a Hollywood icon, won two Oscars during a storied career in films including “The French Connection,” “Hoosiers” and “Superman” from the 1960s until his retirement in the early 2000s.

The pair led a private life after moving to Santa Fe decades ago. A representative for the couple’s estate has cited that privacy in seeking to block the public release of autopsy and investigative reports related to their deaths, especially photographs and video. It will be up to a state district judge to consider that request.

The post Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa’s dog likely died of dehydration and starvation, report says appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

Gene Hackman died at home a week after wife Betsy Arakawa died from hantavirus, authorities say

Associated Press — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Forensic experts came to a heartrending conclusion Friday about the manner of death for actor Gene Hackman: he died of heart disease with complications from Alzheimer’s disease on an empty stomach a week after a rare, rodent-borne disease took the life of his wife at their home in Santa Fe.

The partially mummified remains of Hackman, 95, and Betsy Arakawa, 65, were discovered Feb. 26 when maintenance and security workers showed up at the home and alerted police.

Authorities unraveled the mysterious circumstances and revealed that Arakawa likely died Feb. 11 at home from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare but potentially fatal disease spread by infected rodent droppings.

Hackman, in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s, apparently was unaware that his wife was dead.

“He was in a very poor state of health. He had significant heart disease, and I think ultimately that’s what resulted in his death,” chief medical investigator Dr. Heather Jarrell said. “It’s quite possible he was not aware she was deceased.”

Both deaths were ruled to be from natural causes.

Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said Arakawa’s last known outing was a round of errands and shopping Feb. 11. She visited a pharmacy, pet store and grocery before returning to the couple’s gated neighborhood that evening.

Arakawa stopped answering emails that day. The couple’s cellphone communications have not yet been analyzed.

Hackman’s pacemaker last showed signs of activity a week later, indicating an abnormal heart rhythm Feb. 18, the day he likely died, Jarrell said.

Hackman was found in the home’s entryway, and Arakawa was found in a bathroom. Their bodies were decomposing with some mummification, a consequence of body type and climate in Santa Fe’s especially dry air at an elevation of nearly 7,200 feet (2,200 meters).

The revelations about the manner of the couple’s deaths jolted Santa Fe, the state capital city known as a refuge for celebrities, artists and authors.

“All of us that knew him should have been checking on him,” said Stuart Ashman, co-owner of Artes de Cuba gallery, who cherished his encounters with Hackman at a local Pilates exercise studio. “I had no idea. … It’s just really sad. And that she died a week before him. My God.”

Experts believe Hackman was severely impaired due to Alzheimer’s disease and unable to deal with his wife’s death in the last week of his life — or seek help after she died.

“Their (the authorities’) explanation, I thought, was quite clear and plausible, said Dr. Victor Weedn, a forensic pathologist in Virginia. “I believe they really discovered what truly happened in this case.”

Most older Americans with Alzheimer’s diesease and related dementias live at home, and many receive care from family or friends.

Hantavirus typically is reported in spring and summer, often due to exposures that occur when people are near mouse droppings in homes, sheds or poorly ventilated areas. This is the first confirmed case of hantavirus in New Mexico this year.

While hantavirus is found throughout the world, most cases in the U.S. have been found in western states. The virus can cause a severe and sometimes deadly lung infection.

Jarrell said it was not known how quickly Arakawa died.

One of the couple’s three dogs, a kelpie mix named Zinna, also was found dead in a crate in a bathroom closet near Arakawa, while two other dogs survived.

Dogs do not get sick from hantavirus, said Erin Phipps, a veterinarian with the New Mexico Health Department. A necropsy will be done on the dog.

The sheriff considers this an open investigation until they receive results of the dog’s necropsy and finish checking into data from personal cellphones retrieved from the home.

Arakawa, born in Hawaii, studied as a concert pianist, attended the University of Southern California and met Hackman in the mid-1980s while working at a California gym.

Hackman dedicated much of his time in retirement to painting and writing novels far from Hollywood’s social circuit. He served for several years on the board of trustees at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, and he and Arakawa were investors in local businesses.

___

This story has been corrected to show one of the causes of Hackman’s death was heart disease, not heart failure.

0 seconds of 54 secondsVolume 90%

___

This story has been corrected to show one of the causes of Hackman’s death was heart disease, not heart failure.

The post Gene Hackman died at home a week after wife Betsy Arakawa died from hantavirus, authorities say appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

Scattered Pills Found Near Body of Hackman’s Wife as Inquiry Continues

Contributed — Sun, 02 Mar 2025 11:00:00 +0000

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 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. The dead dog was found near her in a closet, and two other dogs were found alive on the property.

The deputies were called to the scene after a maintenance worker who had gone to the home to perform some work on Wednesday afternoon grew concerned when no one answered the door, the sheriff’s office said in a statement. The worker asked local security officers to conduct a welfare check, and when they arrived and saw unresponsive bodies through the window they called 911.

A pair of deputies arrived and found Ms. Arakawa in the bathroom and then discovered Mr. Hackman lying in the mud room, with his body in a similar condition to his wife’s, the affidavit said. He was found in gray sweatpants, a blue long-sleeve T-shirt, brown slippers and with a cane, the affidavit said. A pair of sunglasses was found to his left. One of the deputies on the scene said that it appeared he had “suddenly fallen,” the affidavit said.

Sheriff Adan Mendoza of Santa Fe County said in a phone interview that investigators were still trying to determine what caused their deaths, noting that there were no obvious signs of trauma to the bodies and that no note had been found. The sheriff said the home was continuing to be searched on Thursday.

“At this stage in the process there isn’t anything obvious like that,” he said. “The autopsy is going to tell us more.”

Mr. Hackman was nominated for five Academy Awards and won two during his 40-year career. He appeared in films that were seen by millions, including “Bonnie and Clyde,” “The French Connection,” “The Poseidon Adventure,” “Mississippi Burning,” “Unforgiven,” “Superman,” “Hoosiers” and “The Royal Tenenbaums.”

In the affidavit seeking the search warrant, Detective Arndt wrote Wednesday that he believed that “the circumstances surrounding the death of the two deceased individuals to be suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation.”

A magistrate judge granted the search warrant so that the authorities could collect items from the home, including documents, any narcotics found, and flammable substances, among other things.

The couple was found in their home in a secluded neighborhood high above downtown Santa Fe, with winding roads and views of the mountains.

Mr. Hackman moved to Santa Fe County in the 1980s after filming some movies there. After he quietly retired from Hollywood more than two decades ago, he wrote several historical adventure novels with a friend, Daniel Lenihan. He was seen from time to time in downtown Santa Fe.

An enthusiastic painter who would use the surrounding mountains as inspiration, Mr. Hackman was once a board member at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, one of Santa Fe’s main cultural attractions. He spoke at the museum’s opening in 1997 and later narrated a short documentary about the artist.

Many of his paintings, including landscapes and portraits, are hanging in Jinja, an Asian fusion restaurant in Santa Fe that the couple had invested in, said Doug Lanham, the restaurant’s owner.

Mr. Lanham, a friend of Mr. Hackman’s, recalled him as a known prankster. He said Mr. Hackman had once convinced a child at a local country club event to give him a squirt gun — and then filled it with red wine.

“He loved Santa Fe because people treated him like just part of the community,” Mr. Lanham said.

In recent years, Mr. Hackman had withdrawn more as he aged, but remained devoted to his wife and dogs, Mr. Lanham said.

Barbara Lenihan, Mr. Lenihan’s wife and a friend of the couple who has known them for more than 30 years, said she last spoke with Ms. Arakawa, who is a partner in her local home décor business, in January. Mr. Hackman seemed to be growing frailer, she said, but he was still painting and drawing.

“They always were somewhat reclusive even though everyone loved to be around them,” she said.

The post Scattered Pills Found Near Body of Hackman’s Wife as Inquiry Continues appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.