Gene Hackman,95, & wife Betsy Arakawa, 63, found dead in their home

[Jason]

https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/27/entertainment/gene-hackman-betsy-arakawa-death/index.html

Actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found dead in their
home in New Mexico, the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office told CNN. He
was 95.

Their cause of death has not been confirmed but it is not believed to be
foul play, Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Denise
Womack-Avila told CNN Thursday morning.

Deputies responded to a welfare check request at the home around 1:45
p.m. Wednesday and found Hackman, Arakawa and a dog deceased,
Womack-Avila said.

CNN has reached out to Hackman’s representatives.

Hackman’s performances in such films as “The French Connection,”
“Hoosiers,” “Unforgiven” and “The Firm” elevated character roles to
leading-man levels.

Hackman’s best roles were often of conflicted authority figures or
surprisingly clever white-collar villains. Many held a hint – sometimes
more than a hint – of menace.

He won an Oscar for his portrayal of New York cop Popeye Doyle in 1971’s
“The French Connection,” a detective who gets his man but at a high
cost. His surveillance expert in 1974’s “The Conversation” is
single-minded to the point of obsession, losing all perspective.

He was 36 before he broke through in 1967’s “Bonnie and Clyde,” a role
he got after losing the part of Mr. Robinson in “The Graduate.” Before
that, he’d served in the Marines, scuffled in California and New York –
sometimes with a roommate, “Graduate” star Dustin Hoffman – and worked
odd jobs, including truck driver and doorman.

Hackman retired at 74. He had lived in Santa Fe in recent decades with
Arakawa, a former classical pianist, and largely stayed out of the
public eye.

Hackman had three children, whom he shared with his late ex-wife, Faye
Maltese.

--

[Adam H. Kerman]

Post by Jason
https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/27/entertainment/gene-hackman-betsy-arakawa-death/index.html
Actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found dead in their
home in New Mexico, the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office told CNN. He
was 95.
Their cause of death has not been confirmed but it is not believed to be
foul play, Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Denise
Womack-Avila told CNN Thursday morning.
Deputies responded to a welfare check request at the home around 1:45
p.m. Wednesday and found Hackman, Arakawa and a dog deceased,
Womack-Avila said. . . .

The story was first reported in the local newspaper.

https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/sheriff-gene-hackman-wife-found-dead-in-santa-fe-home-no-foul-play-suspected/article_2ea8855a-f4b8-11ef-b501-73232a2b5213.html

And the quote from the sheriff's office is "no immediate indication of
foul play".

This doesn't make amy sense. The wife was 63 years old. That in and of
itself should make her death suspicious. Is this an accidental death,
say, carbon monoxide poisoning from a poorly maintained furnace?

This is just terrible news.

[David Carson]

On Thu, 27 Feb 2025 12:57:56 -0000 (UTC), "Adam H. Kerman"

Post by Adam H. Kerman
And the quote from the sheriff's office is "no immediate indication of
foul play".
This doesn't make amy sense. The wife was 63 years old. That in and of
itself should make her death suspicious. Is this an accidental death,
say, carbon monoxide poisoning from a poorly maintained furnace?

That happens to be the first thing I thought of, too, but it isn't foul
play.

David Carson

[J.D. Baldwin]

Post by David Carson
That happens to be the first thing I thought of, too, but it isn't
foul play.

Would a mutual suicide be considered "foul play" in this context? I
would consider it "foul" on a moral level (see also Arthur Koestler),
but I could see where the police might not take that as an official
position.

Their dog was found dead as well, which honestly makes me lean more
toward a CO leak. Who kills a *dog* before committing suicide?

[Mark Shaw]

Post by J.D. Baldwin
Their dog was found dead as well, which honestly makes me lean more
toward a CO leak. Who kills a *dog* before committing suicide?

Curiouser and curiouser:

https://nypost.com/2025/02/27/entertainment/gene-hackman-and-wifes-death-investigated-as-suspicious-after-door-was-found-open-pills-found/

Gene Hackman's wife was found mummified and bloated when the
two were discovered dead with their dog in their multi million
dollar New Mexico home by maintenance workers who hadn't seen
the couple in two weeks, police wrote in an affidavit.

Authorities said the deaths were "suspicious enough in nature
to require a thorough search and investigation" after finding
the door to the couple's home was "unsecured and opened" and
an open orange pill bottle and pills scattered around the room
where Hackman's wife, classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, and the
dog were discovered.

Deputies noted that it appeared Arakawa had "obvious signs of
death, body decomposition, bloating in her face and mummification
in both hands and feet," according to the report.

The door into the couple's $3.3 million Santa Fe, New Mexico
home, which sits on 6 acres and is over 8,000 square feet, was
left ajar -- but there was no sign of forced entry or theft,
according to the report.

Authorities also noted in the report that a black space heater
was found near Arakawa's head.

Meanwhile, Hackman's body was located in a separate room, and
deputies noted that it appeared he had "suddenly" fallen.

Hackman's body also had "obvious signs of death, similar and
consistent with the female decedent," police wrote in the
report.

Fire department officials who responded to the scene reported
finding no signs of a carbon monoxide leak or poisoning,
according to the report.

The cause of death for Hackman and Arakawa will be determined
by a medical examiner, officials said.

The New Mexico Gas Co. is working with the Santa Fe County
Sheriff's Department in the investigation, spokesperson Tim
Korte told The Associated Press.

[Adam H. Kerman]

Post by Mark Shaw

Post by J.D. Baldwin
Their dog was found dead as well, which honestly makes me lean more
toward a CO leak. Who kills a *dog* before committing suicide?

https://nypost.com/2025/02/27/entertainment/gene-hackman-and-wifes-death-investigated-as-suspicious-after-door-was-found-open-pills-found/
Gene Hackman's wife was found mummified and bloated when the
two were discovered dead with their dog in their multi million
dollar New Mexico home by maintenance workers who hadn't seen
the couple in two weeks, police wrote in an affidavit.
Authorities said the deaths were "suspicious enough in nature
to require a thorough search and investigation" after finding
the door to the couple's home was "unsecured and opened" and
an open orange pill bottle and pills scattered around the room
where Hackman's wife, classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, and the
dog were discovered. . . .

I'm faulting the sheriff's initial press release, then. That was written
11 hours after discovery. It's inexcuseable to make that complete and
utter misrepresentation.

[Jason]

Post by Adam H. Kerman

Post by Mark Shaw

Post by J.D. Baldwin
Their dog was found dead as well, which honestly makes me lean more
toward a CO leak. Who kills a *dog* before committing suicide?

https://nypost.com/2025/02/27/entertainment/gene-hackman-and-wifes-death-investigated-as-suspicious-after-door-was-found-open-pills-found/
Gene Hackman's wife was found mummified and bloated when the
two were discovered dead with their dog in their multi million
dollar New Mexico home by maintenance workers who hadn't seen
the couple in two weeks, police wrote in an affidavit.
Authorities said the deaths were "suspicious enough in nature
to require a thorough search and investigation" after finding
the door to the couple's home was "unsecured and opened" and
an open orange pill bottle and pills scattered around the room
where Hackman's wife, classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, and the
dog were discovered. . . .

I'm faulting the sheriff's initial press release, then. That was written
11 hours after discovery. It's inexcuseable to make that complete and
utter misrepresentation.

In the first 24-48 hrs after any significant "breaking news", I take all
media reports with a HUGE helping of salt. In the race to be first, if
it bleeds it leads, and accuracy is no object.

--

[Adam H. Kerman]

Post by Jason

Post by Adam H. Kerman

Post by Mark Shaw

Post by J.D. Baldwin
Their dog was found dead as well, which honestly makes me lean more
toward a CO leak. Who kills a *dog* before committing suicide?

https://nypost.com/2025/02/27/entertainment/gene-hackman-and-wifes-death-investigated-as-suspicious-after-door-was-found-open-pills-found/
Gene Hackman's wife was found mummified and bloated when the
two were discovered dead with their dog in their multi million
dollar New Mexico home by maintenance workers who hadn't seen
the couple in two weeks, police wrote in an affidavit.
Authorities said the deaths were "suspicious enough in nature
to require a thorough search and investigation" after finding
the door to the couple's home was "unsecured and opened" and
an open orange pill bottle and pills scattered around the room
where Hackman's wife, classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, and the
dog were discovered. . . .

I'm faulting the sheriff's initial press release, then. That was written
11 hours after discovery. It's inexcuseable to make that complete and
utter misrepresentation.

In the first 24-48 hrs after any significant "breaking news", I take all
media reports with a HUGE helping of salt. In the race to be first, if
it bleeds it leads, and accuracy is no object.

While I agree with you, the earliest news reports were based on that
sheriff's press release. An official press release is not quoting
someone repeating a rumor.

[Jason]

CNN news conference today with Chief Medical Examiner

Autopsy Results:

Betsy's cause of death was Hantavirus.

Gene's cause of death was heart disease, high blood pressure,
respiratory disease and advanced Alzheimer's disease.

--

[Mark Shaw]

Post by Jason
CNN news conference today with Chief Medical Examiner
Betsy's cause of death was Hantavirus.
Gene's cause of death was heart disease, high blood pressure,
respiratory disease and advanced Alzheimer's disease.

An additional detail: Gene was apparently alive for about a week
after Betsy died. His Alzheimer's must have been pretty severe.

[Adam H. Kerman]

Post by Jason
CNN news conference today with Chief Medical Examiner
Betsy's cause of death was Hantavirus.

I think pulmonary distress from contact with feces of an infected
rodent. Looking it up, exposure can also lead to hemorrhagic fever with
renal failure but that's not as common.

Post by Jason
Gene's cause of death was heart disease, high blood pressure,
respiratory disease and advanced Alzheimer's disease.

I am quite relieved that this proves there was no homicide.

I'm still confused about whether the dog was locked in a crate and died
of dehydration, or if it was not locked in a crate.

[Lenona]

Post by Adam H. Kerman
I am quite relieved that this proves there was no homicide.

Yes, well, it's still horrible that something like this could happen.

Especially regarding that poor dog...

I found this thread, which pointed out that Hackman died alone, in
effect, despite having three children. But it also mentioned an app that
could well have prevented at least two of the deaths. It sounds pretty
good. So I'm posting it here. (There are almost 100 comments already.
Most of them are about how to protect yourself from a scenario like
Hackman's.)

https://www.reddit.com/r/childfree/comments/1j66lqn/gene_hackman_had_3_kids_but_died_all_alone/


Quote:

"Check out the Snug app. It’s basically a daily check in. If you don’t
confirm in the app it will automatically contact someone for you. You
determine who that contact is. It’s geared towards seniors but it’s a
nice option for anyone who lives alone."

[Adam H. Kerman]

Post by Lenona

Post by Adam H. Kerman
I am quite relieved that this proves there was no homicide.

Yes, well, it's still horrible that something like this could happen.
Especially regarding that poor dog...

Is this a debate we need to have? I think a horrible way to die is in
hospital with every possible treatment thrown at the patient in
intensive care, or having had some surgery that will not improve quality
of life because the patient dies during recovery...

I'm sorry Hackman died alone but at least he was at home. I'm sorry she
didn't recognize her own flu-like symptoms were serious enough that she
needed to see her doctor who would have ordered a blood test, but who would?

Post by Lenona
. . .

[Lenona]

At least in a hospital, you're less likely to be in agonizing pain.

From CBS:

"There was no food in Hackman's stomach, meaning he had not eaten
recently before he died, Jarrell said. She didn't find evidence of
dehydration."

But there's still a chance that both he and his wife suffered terribly,
for hours at least, before their deaths.

[Adam H. Kerman]

Post by Lenona
At least in a hospital, you're less likely to be in agonizing pain.

After treatment, including surgery the patient doesn't benefit from?

You know that a pacemaker activation is incredibly painful, yes? The
pacemaker may keep going off regardless of whether the patient is dying
of some other organ failure like kidneys or liver. Installing a pacemaker
is a surgery common to nearly all seniors who were ever hospitalized.

You don't want to die like that. It's torture.

Post by Lenona
"There was no food in Hackman's stomach, meaning he had not eaten
recently before he died, Jarrell said. She didn't find evidence of
dehydration."
But there's still a chance that both he and his wife suffered terribly,
for hours at least, before their deaths.

Right, 'cuz there's no suffering in hospital care.

I'm not discussing the wife's death here. If she had recognized how
serious her symptoms were weeks earlier and sought treatment from her
own physician, she could have been treated successfully.

But Gene Hackman? He was going to die of something. It's unlikely he'd
have lived significantly longer if she were still caring for him.

[Lenona]

Post by Adam H. Kerman

Post by Lenona
At least in a hospital, you're less likely to be in agonizing pain.

After treatment, including surgery the patient doesn't benefit from?
You know that a pacemaker activation is incredibly painful, yes? The
pacemaker may keep going off regardless of whether the patient is dying
of some other organ failure like kidneys or liver. Installing a pacemaker
is a surgery common to nearly all seniors who were ever hospitalized.

No, I had never heard that it's painful - at all. I would have expected
the media to mention that quite often - if only to push researchers to
find a way to make it less painful. After all, the pain could KILL a
frail patient - right?

Post by Adam H. Kerman

Post by Lenona
But there's still a chance that both he and his wife suffered terribly,
for hours at least, before their deaths.

Right, 'cuz there's no suffering in hospital care.
I'm not discussing the wife's death here. If she had recognized how
serious her symptoms were weeks earlier and sought treatment from her
own physician, she could have been treated successfully.
But Gene Hackman? He was going to die of something. It's unlikely he'd
have lived significantly longer if she were still caring for him.

I think we're talking apples and oranges here. Even when everyone knows
that the patient is going to die in a matter of hours and nothing can be
done about that, I would hope that the staff would do everything to make
the patient comfortable and even respect a patient's wish not to use ANY
drugs - as in "To Kill a Mockingbird." (Granted, there was no hospital
involved in that case, IIRC.)

[J.D. Baldwin]

Post by Lenona

Post by Adam H. Kerman
You know that a pacemaker activation is incredibly painful, yes? The
pacemaker may keep going off regardless of whether the patient is dying
of some other organ failure like kidneys or liver. Installing a pacemaker
is a surgery common to nearly all seniors who were ever hospitalized.

No, I had never heard that it's painful - at all. I would have expected
the media to mention that quite often - if only to push researchers to
find a way to make it less painful. After all, the pain could KILL a
frail patient - right?

"Like being kicked by a horse" is how I have heard it described. I
once did CPR on a dead guy and as we were switching guys doing chest
compressions, the dead guy spasmed violently enough that he knocked
over a piece of equipment. Only then did someone point out the small
bulge of what obviously (by then) was his "pacemaker"[1]. He was just
chonky enough that it didn't stand out on his chest. It was surreal.

[1] Not a pacemaker, actually, though everyone casually refers to them
that way. It was an implantable defibrillator. Sometimes the
device does both things.

[danny burstein]

In <vqkb1d$f1a$***@reader1.panix.com> ***@example.com.invalid (J.D. Baldwin) writes:

[snip]

Post by J.D. Baldwin
"Like being kicked by a horse" is how I have heard it described. I
once did CPR on a dead guy and as we were switching guys doing chest
compressions, the dead guy spasmed violently enough that he knocked
over a piece of equipment. Only then did someone point out the small
bulge of what obviously (by then) was his "pacemaker"[1]. He was just
chonky enough that it didn't stand out on his chest. It was surreal.
[1] Not a pacemaker, actually, though everyone casually refers to them
that way. It was an implantable defibrillator. Sometimes the
device does both things.

Dammit, so you're one of the people keeping Dick Cheney alive...

[Adam H. Kerman]

Post by Adam H. Kerman

Post by Lenona
At least in a hospital, you're less likely to be in agonizing pain.

After treatment, including surgery the patient doesn't benefit from?
You know that a pacemaker activation is incredibly painful, yes? The
pacemaker may keep going off regardless of whether the patient is dying
of some other organ failure like kidneys or liver. Installing a pacemaker
is a surgery common to nearly all seniors who were ever hospitalized.

No, I had never heard that it's painful - at all. . . .

When they go into defibrillation mode, an electrical shock directly into
the heart tissue.

Post by Adam H. Kerman

Post by Lenona
But there's still a chance that both he and his wife suffered terribly,
for hours at least, before their deaths.

Right, 'cuz there's no suffering in hospital care.
I'm not discussing the wife's death here. If she had recognized how
serious her symptoms were weeks earlier and sought treatment from her
own physician, she could have been treated successfully.
But Gene Hackman? He was going to die of something. It's unlikely he'd
have lived significantly longer if she were still caring for him.

I think we're talking apples and oranges here. Even when everyone knows
that the patient is going to die in a matter of hours and nothing can be
done about that, I would hope that the staff would do everything to make
the patient comfortable and even respect a patient's wish not to use ANY
drugs - as in "To Kill a Mockingbird." (Granted, there was no hospital
involved in that case, IIRC.)

Yes, 'cuz that's the world's experiences, a peaceful death in hospital.

Hackman would not have benefitted from hospitalization, so dying in
hospital would have been the wrong thing. I simply see nothing wrong
with dying at home. He needed a caregiver which would have allowed him
to stay at hoje successfully, but in this case, it simply made no
difference in his longevity.

[Adam H. Kerman]

Post by David Carson

Post by Adam H. Kerman
And the quote from the sheriff's office is "no immediate indication of
foul play".
This doesn't make amy sense. The wife was 63 years old. That in and of
itself should make her death suspicious. Is this an accidental death,
say, carbon monoxide poisoning from a poorly maintained furnace?

That happens to be the first thing I thought of, too, but it isn't foul
play.

My objection is that some of the newspapers, not reporting themselves
but rewriting reporting done by others, read something into the police
statement they shouldn't have.

The death is suspicious until foul play is ruled out. "No immediate
indictaion of foul play" just means the patrol officer first responding
or paramedic saw no traumatic injury or no signs of a break in or
fight. Neither is capable of determining poisoning and whether it was
accidental or intentional.

In my hypothetical, the furnace required maintenance. What if it turned out
that an HVAC tech had serviced the furnance? The police might investigate
whether the technician's actions were negligent. If so, that's a tort
but not a crime.

But if his actions were reckless, that might be criminal. A manslaughter
charge would be appropriate. Under extremely unusual circumstances, the
technician might have committed sabotage, a crime of intent. And what if
police can prove premeditation?

Here's something I don't know. In the case of negligence, would the
coronor's finding be homicide or accidental given that a human through
neglect cause the death of another? This finding is independent
of whether it's possible to bring a criminal charge against the
responsible party. Also, a coronor truly makes no finding of intent.

[David Carson]

He won an Oscar for his portrayal of New York cop Popeye Doyle in 1971’s
“The French Connection,” a detective who gets his man but at a high
cost. His surveillance expert in 1974’s “The Conversation” is
single-minded to the point of obsession, losing all perspective.

He was the oldest living Best Actor/Actress award winner. That would now
be Joanne Wooward, who turns 95 today.

David Carson

[Mongo Da Cat]

Several of the initial news reports have indicated that their
deaths could not be attributed to "fowl play"...

That's what happens when AI bots write and proofreads news copy.

[Larc]

On Sat, 1 Mar 2025 11:30:58 -0000 (UTC), Mongo Da Cat <***@bitme.com> wrote:

| Several of the initial news reports have indicated that their
| deaths could not be attributed to "fowl play"...
|
| That's what happens when AI bots write and proofreads news copy.

It also happens when you hire people who either didn't get or largely ignored
education in the English language. I'm noticing increasing spelling and syntax
errors in news items that I suspect are not products of AI.

Larc

[Kenny McCormack]

Post by Larc
| Several of the initial news reports have indicated that their
| deaths could not be attributed to "fowl play"...
|
| That's what happens when AI bots write and proofreads news copy.
It also happens when you hire people who either didn't get or largely
ignored education in the English language. I'm noticing increasing
spelling and syntax errors in news items that I suspect are not products
of AI.

Welcome to the texting generation. Where spelling is irrelevant.

It's all fonetik.

[David Samuel Barr]

Post by Kenny McCormack

Post by Larc
| Several of the initial news reports have indicated that their
| deaths could not be attributed to "fowl play"...
|
| That's what happens when AI bots write and proofreads news copy.

Unless, of course, the cause of death turns out to be bird flu.

Post by Kenny McCormack

Post by Larc
It also happens when you hire people who either didn't get or largely
ignored education in the English language. I'm noticing increasing
spelling and syntax errors in news items that I suspect are not products
of AI.

Welcome to the texting generation. Where spelling is irrelevant.
It's all fonetik.

It's been like that for nearly 30 years all over the
internet. Amelia (a"h) and I periodically exchanged
e-mails (and made the occasional post) bemoaning the
endless misuse and abuse of language, grammar,
punctuation, etc we encountered here and (mostly)
elsewhere.

[Guilty Bastard]

Post by Kenny McCormack

Post by Larc
| Several of the initial news reports have indicated that their
| deaths could not be attributed to "fowl play"...
|
| That's what happens when AI bots write and proofreads news copy.
It also happens when you hire people who either didn't get or largely
ignored education in the English language. I'm noticing increasing
spelling and syntax errors in news items that I suspect are not products
of AI.

Welcome to the texting generation. Where spelling is irrelevant.
It's all fonetik.

A while back, a would-be job applicant emailed me a message that read,
"I want 2 work 4 U." I deleted it five seconds after I read it.

I find that I often have to re-read news headlines because they don't
make any sense due to poor sentence structure.

[Adam H. Kerman]

Post by Mongo Da Cat
Several of the initial news reports have indicated that their
deaths could not be attributed to "fowl play"...
That's what happens when AI bots write and proofreads news copy.

But that was due to an unreliable observation of the police sturgeon
before the bodies were removed from the crime scene.

[Steve Hayes]

On Sat, 1 Mar 2025 15:45:43 -0000 (UTC), "Adam H. Kerman"

Post by Adam H. Kerman

Post by Mongo Da Cat
Several of the initial news reports have indicated that their
deaths could not be attributed to "fowl play"...
That's what happens when AI bots write and proofreads news copy.

But that was due to an unreliable observation of the police sturgeon
before the bodies were removed from the crime scene.

Sounds a bit fishy to me.

[Aje RavenStar]

Post by Steve Hayes
On Sat, 1 Mar 2025 15:45:43 -0000 (UTC), "Adam H. Kerman"

Post by Adam H. Kerman

Post by Mongo Da Cat
Several of the initial news reports have indicated that their
deaths could not be attributed to "fowl play"...
That's what happens when AI bots write and proofreads news copy.

But that was due to an unreliable observation of the police sturgeon
before the bodies were removed from the crime scene.

Sounds a bit fishy to me.

But check out how many bought it hook, line, and sinker.

[Adam H. Kerman]

In the next bizarre development, the dead dog had been misidentified. It
turns out this was a dog, devoted to the wife, who had been in and out
of shelters.

This news story says that the dog was found in a kennel in a bathroom
closet near the wife's corpse. I still haven't read if the dog was
locked in the cage or not. If locked in, then it's likely that the dog
died of dehydration and not poisoning. Regardless, if both deaths were
deliberate, then that's cruelty if not abuse.

Get this: No necropsy was performed on the dog. Obviously it would have
either provided evidence or ruled out poisoning. For instance, if the
dog were poisoned, maybe the wife did it and that could suggest she
wanted to die. I just can't see the wife locking the dog in its cage.

https://apnews.com/article/gene-hackman-died-dogs-santa-fe-22d7f6921577f012c87027de8652795d

Do we yet have a clear report on whether the door to the home was open
or closed? Is it true that the other dogs on the property were wandering
in and out of the house?

Why hadn't the other two dogs eaten the spilled pills, poisoning
themselves?