Gene Hackman, wife Betsy Arakawa found dead in Santa Fe home: What we know

SANTA FE, New Mexico - Gene Hackman, an Oscar-winning actor known for his performances in "The French Connection" and "Unforgiven," was found dead under suspicious circumstances along with his wife, classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, and their dog in their Santa Fe home, officials said. 

Hackman was 95 at the time of his death and his wife 63.

Here’s what we know: 

Gene Hackman, Betsy Arakawa cause of death unclear

What we know:

The Santa Fe County Sheriff's office confirmed the death to FOX News Digital early on Thursday morning.

"On February 26, 2025, at approximately 1:45 p.m., Santa Fe County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to an address on Old Sunset Trail in Hyde Park where Gene Hackman, 95, and his wife Betsy Arakawa, 64, and a dog were found deceased," the statement said.

Hackman was found in a mudroom while Arakawa was found in a bathroom next to a space heater, Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office detectives wrote in a search warrant. There was an open prescription bottle and pills scattered on a countertop near Arakawa.

Police said Arakawa showed obvious signs of death, body decomposition, bloating in her face and mummification in both hands and feet. Hackman was said to have the same signs of decomposition as his wife. 

The deceased dog was found near her body in a closet of the bathroom, but two healthy dogs were also on the property. One was running loose, while the other was seen near Arakawa's body.

Denise Avila, a sheriff's office spokesperson, said there was no indication that the couple had been shot or had other types of wounds.

What we don't know:

The sheriff’s office confirmed that foul play is not suspected as a factor in the deaths at this time, but the cause of death has not been determined. It also was not immediately clear how long the couple had been dead; they may have been there "for some time," the Associated Press reported.

FULL STORY: Gene Hackman's cause of death not clear; deemed ‘suspicious’

During their investigation, the sheriff did not discover any visible trauma on Hackman or his wife and said they could have been victims of a double homicide, suicide, accidental death or natural causes.

A warrant stated that there were "no obvious signs of a gas leak." But the New Mexico Gas Co. is working with the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department in the investigation, spokesperson Tim Korte told the AP.

The utility 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. A detective noted that people exposed to gas leaks or carbon monoxide may not show signs of poisoning.

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.

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.

Gene Hackman's life and career 

Dig deeper:

Hackman’s dozens of films included Oscar-winning roles in "The French Connection" and "Unforgiven," a breakout performance in "Bonnie and Clyde," a comic interlude in "Young Frankenstein," a turn as the comic book villain Lex Luthor in "Superman" and the title character in Wes Anderson’s 2001 "The Royal Tenenbaums."

He seemed capable of any kind of role — whether an uptight buffoon in "Birdcage," a college coach finding redemption in the sentimental favorite "Hoosiers" or a secretive surveillance expert in Francis Ford Coppola’s Watergate-era release "The Conversation."

He was an early retiree — essentially done, by choice, with movies by his 70s — and a late bloomer. Hackman was in his mid-30s when cast for "Bonnie and Clyde" and past 40 when he won his first Oscar, as the rules-bending New York detective "Popeye" Doyle in the 1971 thriller about tracking down Manhattan drug smugglers, "The French Connection."

Eugene Alden Hackman was born Jan. 30, 1931, in San Bernardino, California, and grew up in Danville, Illinois, where his father worked as a pressman for the Commercial-News. His parents fought repeatedly, and his father often used his fists on Gene to take out his rage. The boy found refuge in movie houses, identifying with Errol Flynn and James Cagney as his role models, according to the Associated Press. 

In 1956, Hackman married Fay Maltese, a bank teller he had met at a YMCA dance in New York. They had a son, Christopher, and two daughters, Elizabeth and Leslie, but divorced in the mid-1980s. In 1991 he married Betsy Arakawa, a classical pianist of Japanese descent who was raised in Hawaii.

When not on film locations, Hackman enjoyed painting, stunt flying, stock car racing and deep sea diving. In his latter years, he wrote novels and lived on his ranch in Sante Fe, New Mexico, on a hilltop looking out on the Colorado Rockies, a view he preferred to his films that popped up on television.

What they're saying:

"The loss of a great artist, always cause for both mourning and celebration: Gene Hackman a great actor, inspiring and magnificent in his work and complexity, I mourn his loss, and celebrate his existence and contribution." — Francis Ford Coppola on Instagram.

"There was no finer actor than Gene. Intense and instinctive. Never a false note. He was also a dear friend whom I will miss very much." — actor-director Clint Eastwood in a statement.

"He was a tough nut, Gene Hackman, but he was really good and he was really difficult. Like, we can say it now, but he was a tough guy because older, great actors do not give young directors much of a chance. They're really rough on ’em." — actor Bill Murray, recalling working with Hackman on "The Royal Tenenbaums" with director Wes Anderson, in an interview.

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