Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa.
RAFU WIRE SERVICE AND STAFF REPORTS
A mystery remained March 1 over the cause of death for legendary actor Gene Hackman, his wife Betsy Arakawa and one of their dogs, who were all found dead in their remote Santa Fe home on Feb. 26.
Initial testing showed no signs of carbon monoxide poisoning in the bodies of Hackman and 65-year-old Betsy Arakawa, and data from the actor’s pacemaker suggests he had been dead for about 10 days, the county sheriff said Feb. 28.
The cause of death for both remains unknown pending a full autopsy and toxicology reports, which Sheriff Adan Mendoza said could take three months or longer.
A German shepherd was also found dead near the body of Arakawa. A search warrant affidavit filed by the sheriff’s department described the deaths as “suspicious” enough to warrant a thorough investigation.
Speaking to reporters Feb. 28, Mendoza said initial tests conducted by the Office of the Medical Investigator found no signs of carbon monoxide poisoning. While additional testing is still needed, Mendoza said that would appear to rule out such poisoning as the cause of death. He also said neither Hackman nor Arakawa had any signs of external trauma.
Mendoza said the “l(fā)ast event” recorded by Hackman’s pacemaker was on Feb. 17, suggesting that was the day he died.
“According to the pathologist, I think that is a very good assumption that that was his last day of life,” Mendoza said.
It remained unclear if Arakawa died at the same time.
Mendoza also noted that the couple lived very private lives, and there was no indication of surveillance cameras or other similar equipment at the home.
According to court records, investigators who searched the couple’s home found several medications in the home, but they appeared to be common drugs, such as Tylenol, a thyroid medication and high blood pressure medication.
According to the search warrant affidavit, Hackman was found dead in a mudroom, and Arakawa was found in a bathroom next to a space heater. An open prescription bottle was found on a countertop near Arakawa, along with some scattered pills. The German shepherd was found dead near Arakawa’s body, but two other dogs were found alive at the home, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit noted that Arakawa’s body was showing signs of decomposition.
Deputies responded to the home in response to a 911 call from a caretaker who said he could see the bodies in the home, although he did not go inside. He can be heard telling a dispatcher the couple were “not moving” but he couldn’t tell if they were breathing.
Hackman’s family issued a statement saying he was “l(fā)oved and admired by millions around the world for his brilliant acting career, but to us he was always just dad and grandpa. We will miss him sorely and are devastated by the loss.’’
Barbara and Daniel Lenihan, friends of Hackman and Arakawa, told CNN on Feb. 28 that they had seen the couple recently and nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
“Last time we saw them, they were alive and well,” Daniel Lenihan said, while Barbara added that she saw Arakawa a few weeks ago at a shop in Santa Fe.
Hackman, who won Oscars for “The French Connection” and “Unforgiven,” was married twice, the first time for 30 years to Faye Maltese, with whom he had three children. They divorced in 1986. He married Arakawa, a classical pianist 30 years his junior, in 1991.
Native of Hawaii
Betsy Machiko Arakawa was born Dec. 15, 1959 in Honolulu and grew up there. A musical prodigy, she studied piano at Kahala Elementary School and performed at the Honolulu International Center Concert Hall when she was 11.
Arakawa studied at USC from 1981 to 1983. During a summer break, she served as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Aztecs, a professional soccer team, and worked as a production assistant on the TV game show “Card Sharks.”
She met her future husband in the 1980s while working at a fitness center in Los Angeles. In 1989, Arakawa performed at the Altenheim Geriatric Center in Forest Park, Ill., which was used as a German nursing home in “The Package,” which starred Hackman as a Green Beret. They dated for seven years and married on Dec. 1, 1991, after which she stopped performing in concert.
In 2001, Arakawa co-founded Pandora’s, a linens and home furnishings store in Santa Fe, with Barbara Lenihan.
The couple were well regarded by neighbors. “Gene was not only a legendary actor that shaped generations of storytelling, but him and Betsy were also longtime members of our community, deeply woven into the fabric of Santa Fe,” Santa Fe Film Commissioner Jennifer LaBar-Tapia was quoted as saying by CNN.
“Gene and Betsy were our neighbors who embraced Santa Fe’s lifestyle and embraced Santa Fe as their home. Their kindness, generosity and love for this city made them not just icons but they were part of our family.”
Barbara Lenihan told CNN that the couple had chosen to live in a quiet area, inside a home they built atop 12 acres of land up in the mountains.
“They were very private, and we certainly respected that,” Lenihan said, adding that Arakawa rarely used cell phones and would usually communicate by email. “They were really by themselves, which is the way they wanted it.”