Harrowing video inside Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa’s Santa Fe home showed their heartbroken dog was watching over her lifeless body as deputies combed through the reclusive couple’s cluttered home.
The 11-minute video from a police body cam released by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s on Tuesday showed deputies walking through the bathroom where Arakawa’s body was found.
Just five feet away sat the couple’s German shepherd that stared anxiously at Arakawa’s lifeless body.
‘Poor guy, he’s sad,’ one of the investigators said of the dog.
Officials blurred Arakawa’s body, but the video clearly shows bottles of medication and other toiletries on the bathroom counter.
Inside a large walk-in closet was a pet crate where another dog, a 12-year-old Australian Kelpie mix, was found dead.
Piles of clothes, documents, pictures and other items were littered throughout various rooms inside the $4 million mansion as deputies walked to the other side of the home where Hackman’s body was found.
‘It looks like he was trying to go outside,’ said another deputy of Hackman, whose body was found in the mud room area.
“I observed the the male’s extremities to be red and purple in color, the male appeared to be stiff, and his mouth was open,’ wrote an investigator in a report. ‘I also observed a pair of black sunglasses to the to the left on the male that were on the ground.
‘To the right of the male I observed a black in color walking cane. It appeared as if the male suddenly collapsed.’
The 95-year-old actor and his 65-year-old wife were found dead on February 26 at their home in New Mexico after security personnel saw their bodies through a window and alerted authorities.
In the video, deputies are seen opening doors and windows to air out the home.
‘It smells like gas,’ one of the deputies said.
Carbon monoxide poisoning initially was considered an early cause of death, but was later ruled out by investigators.
Medical examiners concluded Arakawa died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome around February 12, a rare condition brought about by the hantavirus that is spread via rodent droppings and urine.
Hackman died a few days later on February 18 from severe heart disease, which was exacerbated by Alzheimer’s disease and kidney disease.
Investigators believe Hackman may have been unaware Arakawa was dead given his severe health condition at the time of her death.
According to a report obtained by DailyMail.com, the property was infested with rodents.
The New Mexico Department of Public Health inspected the home weeks after the bodies were discovered and concluded the property was a ‘breeding ground’ for the hantavirus.
While the main house was found to be clean, rodent feces was discovered in the three garages and two casitas on the property.
Inspectors also said the three sheds on the property was accessible to vermin. They also found live and dead rodents on the property as well as traps, which suggests the infestation had been an ongoing issue for the reclusive couple.
While hantavirus is rare in the US, with fewer than 50 cases reported annually, the virus has killed three more people in Mammoth Lakes, California weeks after Hackman and Arakawa’s deaths.
Open bookmarks on Arakawa’s computer on February 8 and the morning of February 12 indicated she was actively researching medical conditions related to COVID-19 and flu-like symptoms, according to a report obtained by DailyMail.com.
Arakawa’s searches included questions about whether COVID could cause dizziness or nosebleeds, suggesting she was concerned about her symptoms leading up to her death.
She also had mentioned in an email to her masseuse that Hackman had woken up Feb. 11 with flu or cold-like symptoms but that a COVID test was negative. Arakawa also said she would have to reschedule her appointment for the next day ‘out of an abundance of caution.’
A necropsy report revealed the couple’s beloved 12-year-old Kelpie mix named Zinna likely died from dehydration and starvation, according to documents obtained by DailyMail.com.
Hackman’s 1995 will listed Arakawa – whom he married in 1991 – as his sole inheritor.
Arakawa’s will meanwhile revealed that if the spouses were to die within 90 days of each other, the proceeds from the estate would be donated to charity.
She is survived by her 91-year-old mother, Yoshie Feaster, who also is suffering from dementia.
Since Arakawa’s only living relative is her mother — and her mother has dementia — she likely lacks the legal capacity to make those decisions.
Hackman, a Hollywood icon, won two Oscars during a storied career in films including The French Connection, Hoosiers and Superman from the 1960s and late 1970s.
He retired from acting after 2004’s Welcome to Mooseport and was rarely seen in public during the final two decades of his life.
The couple was recently laid to rest in Santa Fe, according to People magazine.
The private memorial was attended by the actor’s three children — son Christopher and daughters Elizabeth and Leslie, the outlet reported.
The daughters told investigators they were aware that their father had ‘memory issues’ and had to be reminded three times that it was his birthday when they spoke to him last year.
‘While they had not heard of any rodent issues, they did observe mouse traps around the home,’ an investigator wrote in a report. ‘They noted that Gene and Betsy were very private and did not allow maids or cleaners into their home.’
Hackman’s estate filed a petition to block the release of certain records related to the investigation, but Judge Matthew Wilson ruled that video, audio and photos can be released under the New Mexico public record laws.
The judge also said Hackman and Arakawa’s bodies could not be shown and must be blurred out.
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