The deaths of actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa have been ruled as “suspicious” according to a new search warrant affidavit.
The couple and their dog were found dead in their New Mexico home yesterday afternoon (February 26). At the time that their deaths were confirmed, it was believed that there was no foul play involved. No cause of death has been revealed.
Now, according to the affidavit, their deaths are “suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation”. There was no obvious sign of a gas leak which could have killed them and their dog.
The front door of the couple’s home was unlocked and opened and officers reported a healthy dog running around on the property and another near Arakawa’s body. She was found “in a closet of the bathroom” with the heater next to her, as well as the pair’s deceased dog. It seemed she had been dead for some time. Pills were scattered next to the body, which “showed obvious signs of death, body decomposition, bloating in her face and mumification in both hands and feet.”
Meanwhile, Hackman’s body was found in a separate room altogether. The deputy “suspected the male individual has suddenly fallen” and “showed obvious signs of death, similar and consistent with the female decedent.”
Per ABC News, police had come to the property to conduct a welfare check after a neighbour called with concerns about their wellbeing.
Hackman was 95, while Arakawa, a classical pianist, was 63. He leaves behind three children: Christopher, Elizabeth Jean and Leslie Anne, with whom he shared with his late ex-wife, Faye Maltese, who died in 2017.
A generational acting talent, with a career that spanned over six decades, Hackman has spent the last two decades or so in retirement. In 2008, he officially announced his retirement from acting.
Among the films that starred Hackman over the decades are 1971’s The French Connection, 1974’s The Conversation, 1978’s Superman, 1988’s Mississippi Burning, 1992’s Unforgiven, and 2001’s The Royal Tenenbaums. His last feature film role was 2003’s Welcome to Mooseport, in which he starred alongside Ray Romano.
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