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Actor Gene Hackman and his wife were found dead in their home Wednesday under ‘suspicious’ circumstances. Here’s what we know

Legendary actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their New Mexico home Wednesday along with their dog in circumstances officials deemed “suspicious enough” to warrant thorough investigation.

The cause of death is not yet known. The pair did not have any external trauma and there were no immediate signs of foul play, according to preliminary autopsies and officials. Authorities also note there were no immediate signs of a carbon monoxide or natural gas leak.

The couple’s bodies were found in separate rooms in their house, with scattered pills found next to Arakawa, according to police.

Hackman, 95, was an Oscar-winning actor known for his roles in films such as “The French Connection,” “Hoosiers, “Unforgiven” and “The Firm.” Arakawa, three decades Hackman’s junior, was a classical pianist.

Here is what we know about their deaths.

Hackman’s and Arakawa’s bodies were discovered by maintenance workers at the home just before 2 p.m. local time Wednesday, according to the sheriff’s office affidavit for a search warrant obtained by CNN affiliate KOAT.

In a 911 call obtained by CNN, a caller said they could not enter the home but could see two unconscious people through the window.

“No, dude, they’re not moving. Just send somebody out here really quick,” the caller said.

Police responded to the call and discovered Arakawa’s body on the ground inside a bathroom next to an orange prescription pill bottle with scattered pills on the floor, the affidavit said.

The body “showed obvious signs of death, body decomposition, bloating in her face and mumification in both hands and feet,” the affidavit said.

Hackman’s body was then found on the ground near the kitchen, in a similar condition. A walking cane and sunglasses lay next to the body. The deputy suspected he had suddenly fallen, the affidavit said.

A German shepherd dog was also found dead in the bathroom. The affidavit initially said the dog was in a closet, but police later clarified it was in a crate. Two other healthy dogs were found on the property.

The couple had been deceased for quite a while, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza told reporters Thursday. The maintenance workers told police they had not been in touch with the homeowners for two weeks, the affidavit said.

The cause of the couple’s deaths is under investigation, according to the sheriff’s office.

“The circumstances surrounding the death of the two deceased individuals (are considered) to be suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation,” a sheriff’s deputy said, according to the affidavit.

“There was no obvious sign or indication of foul play,” Mendoza said, adding there was no sign of a struggle or that items had been taken from the home.

Fire officials called to the scene “did not locate signs of a carbon monoxide leak or poisoning,” and a gas company crew conducting tests of gas lines in and around the home did not immediately identify any problems, the affidavit said.

Official autopsy and toxicology reports are pending, and carbon monoxide and toxicology tests have been requested for both Hackman and Arakawa, according to the sheriff’s office.

Medical examiner’s reports with the final cause of death usually take four to six weeks to complete, said Chris Ramirez, spokesperson for the New Mexico medical investigator’s office.

“We want to make sure that we get the investigation completed properly. And we want to release the proper information,” Mendoza said Thursday.

In a family statement, Hackman’s daughters and granddaughter said the actor’s family is “devastated by the loss.”

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy,” the statement said. “He was loved 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.”

News of Hackman’s death comes just days before the Academy Awards this weekend.

Throughout his five-decade career, Hackman won two Oscars and was nominated for five.

He won an Oscar for his portrayal in 1971’s “The French Connection” of New York cop Popeye Doyle, a detective who gets his man but at a high cost. He won his second Oscar for his performance as Little Bill Daggett, the violent sheriff in Clint Eastwood’s 1992 film, “Unforgiven.”

A source familiar with behind-the-scenes planning at the Oscars told CNN the actor will be honored at Sunday’s ceremony.

Details are not locked in yet but one possible scenario, the source said, is editing the “In Memoriam” montage to include Hackman’s contributions to cinema.

Another possibility is a scripted mention of Hackman’s passing on stage, perhaps by host Conan O’Brien or another entertainer who would pay tribute to the acting legend.

Todd Leopold contributed to this report.

911 caller saw Hackman and Arakawa lying on the floor through window

Deaths ‘suspicious enough’ to warrant thorough investigation

Cause of death reports could take 4 to 6 weeks

Hackman will be honored at Sunday’s Academy Awards

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NEWS & BUZZ

Oscar-winner Gene Hackman, wife Betsy Arakawa and their dog were dead for some time, warrant shows

A search warrant affidavit reports that the bodies of Oscar-winner Gene Hackman and his wife were discovered by a maintenance worker when he arrived to do routine work Wednesday. (AP video by Ty ONeil)

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Oscar-winner Gene Hackman, his wife and one of their dogs were apparently dead for some time before a maintenance worker discovered their bodies at the couple’s home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, investigators said.

The bodies were found Wednesday. Denise Avila, a sheriff’s office spokesperson, said there was no indication they had been shot or had any wounds that would indicate foul play. But Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office detectives wrote in a search warrant affidavit investigators thought the deaths were “suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation.”

Hackman, 95, was in an entryway, and his 65-year-old wife, Betsy Arakawa, was lying on her right side in the bathroom. A space heater was next to her head and may have fallen when she abruptly dropped to the floor, according to the affidavit.

Actor Gene Hackman arrives with his wife, Betsy Arakawa, for the 60th Annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2003. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)

The New Mexico Gas Co. tested the gas lines in and around the home after the bodies were discovered, according to the warrant. At the time, it didn’t find any signs of problems and the Fire Department found no signs of a carbon monoxide leak or poisoning. A detective wrote that there were no obvious signs of a gas leak, but he noted that people exposed to gas leaks or carbon monoxide might not show signs of poisoning.

The sheriff’s office planned a Friday afternoon news conference to provide updates on the case.

The gruff but beloved Hackman was among the most accomplished actors of his generation, appearing as villains, heroes and antiheroes in dozens of dramas, comedies and action films from the 1960s until his retirement in the early 2000s.

“He was loved and admired by millions around the world for his brilliant acting career, but to us he was always just Dad and Grandpa,” his daughters and granddaughter said in a statement Thursday. “We will miss him sorely and are devastated by the loss.”

According to the search warrant affidavit, a maintenance worker reported that the home’s front door was open when he arrived to do routine work Wednesday, and he called police after finding the bodies.

But in a 911 call, the maintenance worker said he was unable to get inside when the operator asked whether the people in the house were breathing.

“I have no idea,” the subdivision’s caretaker said. “I am not inside the house. It’s closed. It’s locked. I can’t go in. But I can see she’s laying down on the floor from the window.”

He and another worker later told authorities that they rarely saw the homeowners and their last contact with them had been about two weeks ago.

Gene Hackman, the Oscar-winning actor whose roles ranged from reluctant heroes to conniving villains, was found dead along with his wife, Betsy Arakawa, and their dog. He was 95. What to know:

Hackman appeared to have fallen, a deputy observed. A cane was nearby.

A dead German shepherd was found in a bathroom closet near Arakawa, police said. Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said during an unrelated news conference Thursday that the dog was found in a kennel. Two healthy dogs were found on the property — one inside and one outside.

“There was no indication of a struggle,” Mendoza said. “There was no indication of anything that was missing from the home or disturbed, you know, that would be indication that there was a crime that had occurred.”

Results of autopsies conducted on both bodies are not available yet, sheriff’s officials said, noting that carbon monoxide and toxicology test results are pending.

Actor Gene Hackman waves as he starts out for a practice run in his Toyota Celica, Feb. 5, 1983 at the Daytona International Speedway in preparation for the Daytona 24 Hour Endurac Race. This race marks the start of Hickman?s career as a professional driver. (AP Photo/Bob Self, File)

The search warrant affidavit suggests that police appear to have a working theory that “some kind of gas poisoning” happened, but that they don’t know yet and aren’t ruling anything out, Loyola Marymount University law professor Laurie Levenson said.

“They don’t have clear evidence that it’s any type of homicide, but they’re asking for blunt instruments or other weapons that could be used,” said Levenson, who has no connection to the investigation. “It doesn’t also look like some kind of planned double-suicide.”

William & Mary Law School professor Jeffrey Bellin said the request for a search warrant was somewhat unusual because investigators who file one usually believe a specific crime was committed. In this case, no alleged crime was mentioned, Bellin said.

Police tend to overstate what they know, but this is the opposite, said Bellin, who also isn’t tied to the investigation.

“It just struck me as very careful in a way that search warrant affidavits often are not,” he said.

Hackman routinely showed up on Hollywood lists of greatest American actors of the 20th century. He could play virtually any kind of role, from comic book villain Lex Luthor in “Superman” to a coach finding redemption in the sentimental favorite “Hoosiers.”

Hackman was a five-time Oscar nominee who won best actor in a leading role for “The French Connection” in 1972 and best actor in a supporting role for “Unforgiven” two decades later. His death comes just four days before this year’s ceremony.

Tributes quickly poured in from Hollywood.

“There was no finer actor than Gene,” actor-director Clint Eastwood, Hackman’s “Unforgiven” co-star, said in a statement. “Intense and instinctive. Never a false note. He was also a dear friend whom I will miss very much.”

Hackman met Arakawa, a classically trained pianist who grew up in Hawaii, when she was working part-time at a California gym in the mid-1980s. They soon moved in together and relocated to Santa Fe by the end of the decade.

Their Pueblo revival home, a style typical in the area, sits on a hill in a gated community with views of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. The four-bedroom home on 6 acres (2.4 hectares) was built in 1997 and had an estimated market value of a little over $4 million, according to Santa Fe County property tax records.

Hackman and his wife also owned a more modest home next door.

Hackman co-wrote three novels, starting with the swashbuckler, “Wake of the Perdido Star,” with Daniel Lenihan in 1999, according to publisher Simon & Schuster. He then penned two by himself, concluding with “Pursuit” in 2013, about a female police officer on the tail of a predator.

AP correspondent Ed Donahue reports on the death of a Hollywood legend.

In his first couple of decades in New Mexico, Hackman was often seen around the historic state capital, known as an artist enclave, tourism destination and retreat for celebrities.

He served on the board of trustees for the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum from 1997-2004, the museum said in a statement.

In recent years, he was far less visible, though even the most mundane outings caught the attention of the press. There were articles about him attending a show at a performing arts center in 2018, as well as pumping gas, doing yard work and getting a chicken sandwich at Wendy’s in 2023.

Aside from appearances at awards shows, he was rarely seen in the Hollywood social circuit and retired from acting about 20 years ago. His was the rare Hollywood retirement that actually lasted.

Hackman had three children from a previous marriage. He and Arakawa had no children together but were known for having German shepherds.

Melley reported from London. Associated Press writers Felicia Fonseca in Flagstaff, Arizona; Andrew Dalton in Los Angeles; Jacques Billeaud in Phoenix; Mead Gruver in Cheyenne, Wyoming; John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio; Sylvia Hui in London and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.

Worker found bodies of Hackman and his wife

Actor known for his versatility

Hackman and Arakawa settled in Santa Fe

Hackman’s later years

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Gene Hackman’s Daughter Reveals What She Believes Led to Father’s Unexpected Death

Elizabeth Jean Hackman, the middle child of the late Gene Hackman and his ex-wife Faye Maltese, has broken the family’s silence on the untimely death of their dad and his wife, Betsy Arakawa.

While an investigation is underway to determine the couple’s cause of death, the 62-year-old told TMZ that the family has suspicions about what led up to the discovery of the Superman star, 95, Arakawa, and one of their three dogs dead in their Santa Fe, N.M., home on Wednesday, Feb. 26.

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They can’t know for sure, but Elizabeth and her siblings suspect that carbon monoxide is the reason for their deaths. Police responded to a welfare check called in by the couple’s neighbors, only to find that they’d been dead for at least a day—though it’s not known what caused enough concern for them to make the call.

She also confirmed that law enforcement found no evidence suggesting foul play so far. However, Sheriff Adan Mendoza has not officially ruled anything out at this point in the investigation.

Elizabeth didn’t offer any insight into her dad’s health at the time of his death, though in his final public sighting almost a year ago, he was spotted using a cane as a mobility aid.

In addition to Elizabeth, Gene is survived by his eldest child, son Christopher, and a younger daughter, Leslie. He and Arakawa did not share any kids. As the family is actively getting their affairs in order, details for a memorial service have not been finalized yet.

Elizabeth and Leslie, along with granddaughter Annie, issued a statement to Parade, writing, “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy. He was loved 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.”

Next: Gene Hackman Once Expressed Fear of Leaving His Wife Behind in Death: All About His Relationship With Wife Betsy Arakawa

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