Police To Give Gene Hackman Cause of Death Probe Update: What We Know

The Santa Fe County Sheriff is preparing to give an update into the cause of death investigation for Hollywood star Gene Hackman, 95, and his 63-year-old wife Betsy Arakawa.

The couple and their dog were found dead at their Santa Fe, New Mexico, home on Wednesday, February 26, by maintenance workers.

There were no obvious signs of foul play, officials said.

Why It Matters

Hackman retired from acting in 2004 after his doctor warned him that his “heart wasn’t in the kind of shape that I should be putting it under any stress,” British film magazine Empire reported in 2009. The star had previously had a balloon catheter inserted into one of his arteries in 1990 after being hospitalized with chest pains.

However, in recent years, Hackman was described as being in good health, and he regularly cycled and did yard work, Closer magazine reported in 2020. Hackman’s friend and former business partner, Doug Lanham, told TMZ that Arakawa had her husband on a strict, healthy diet.

Hackman’s daughter, Leslie Hackman, added that her father had been in “very good physical condition” before his death.

What To Know

An official cause of death has not yet been determined but early results from the autopsies have ruled out carbon monoxide poisoning. The bodies were also found to have “no external trauma.”

Hackman’s pacemaker stopped registering his heartbeat on February 17, meaning it’s likely his and his wife’s bodies were not discovered for nine days, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adam Mendoza said last week.

Hackman and Arakawa were found in different parts of the house. Mendoza said last week that a prescription pill bottle found near Arakawa is “very important evidence” for the investigation into their cause of death.

He also said that the autopsy is “key” in ruling out foul play in their deaths.

Hackman was born in San Bernardino, California, in 1930 and enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps at just 16. Following military service, he turned to acting, with a breakout role in 1967 as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde. He had three children with his first wife, Faye Maltese; son Christopher Allen and daughters Elizabeth Jean and Leslie Anne, before marrying his second wife Arakawa, a pianist, in 1991.

The notoriously private actor won two Oscars: the Best Actor award for his role in the 1971 film The French Connection and the Best Supporting Actor prize in 1993 for Unforgiven.

Hackman was honored at this year’s Oscars ceremony by his longtime friend and fellow Hollywood star Morgan Freeman.

What People Are Saying

Santa Fe County Sheriff Adam Mendoza told People last week, “A toxicology report could take some time, it could take up to three months or even possibly longer. We’re hoping it comes sooner than later so we can answer some of these questions and hopefully it’ll help us in our investigation to help determine the matter and cause of death.”

Morgan Freeman honored Hackman at this year’s Oscars, ahead of the in memoriam segment, saying, “Gene always said, ‘I don’t think about legacy. I just hope people remember me as someone who tried to do good work. So I think I speak for us all when I say, Gene, you’ll be remembered for that –– and for so much more.”

What Happens Next

The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office is holding a joint press conference with the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator and the New Mexico Department of Health at 4 p.m. ET on March 7.

It can be viewed on the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department’s Facebook page.