Gene Hackman’s quiet impact: a legacy beyond the screen
In Santa Fe, Gene Hackman’s lesser known legacy of humility, artistry and an undeniable fingerprint on his community.
The investigation into the deaths of legendary actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa has entered its second week.
Hackman and Arakawa were found dead alongside their dog by neighborhood security officials in their Santa Fe, New Mexico, home on Wednesday. As Hollywood shared condolences and memories of the Oscar-winning actor, troubling details began to emerge surrounding the couple’s deaths.
According to a search warrant affidavit, authorities found the actor in a mudroom near his cane, appearing to have fallen, while his wife Arakawa was found in an open bathroom near a space heater, with an open prescription bottle and pills scattered on the nearby countertop. A deputy observed Arakawa with “body decomposition, bloating in her face” and mummification of her hands and feet.
One of the couple’s German shepherds was also found dead less than 15 feet from Arakawa in a closet, while two other dogs were found alive in the bathroom near Arakawa and outside. Authorities have called the circumstances “suspicious.”
When exactly either party died remains a mystery. As the Santa Fe sheriff’s department cobbles together a timeline, the pair’s privacy may present a roadblock, officials say.
“One of the things is in an investigation, we try to piece a timeline together,” Sheriff Adan Mendoza told the “Today” show, revealing in a press conference that Hackman’s pacemaker recorded its last event Feb. 17, more than a week before his body was discovered.
Carbon monoxide ruled out in Gene Hackman death
In a press conference Friday, Mendoza confirmed that carbon monoxide poisoning had been ruled out as a potential cause of death for the couple.
Mendoza told “Today” their office usually works from when “the event” happens and goes forward but that investigators plan to also work “backwards” on the Hackman case, attempting to crystallize a story around how these “very private” individuals ended up dead in their home.
Gene Hackman, wife retreated to Santa Fe home in later years
In his final years, Hackman retreated from Hollywood, finding solace in the anonymity Santa Fe provided. Joining a rich community of artists, he and Arakawa embedded themselves in the fabric of the city.
Their home, a labor of love for the pair, blended Southwestern and Spanish styles and provided respite and artistic inspiration during Hackman’s last chapter.
“He’s a global superstar and a part of Santa Fe’s local community. He’s a horrible villain and a really decent human being,” Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber told USA TODAY. “I think that’s why … the response to his death is so strong, because he connects across these different boundaries, and not everybody can do that.”
Contributing: Bryan Alexander, Taujuan Moorman, James Powel, Jay Stahl
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