Gene Hackman’s family has issued a statement after his and his wife Betsy Arakawa‘s shocking deaths.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy,” his daughters, Elizabeth and Leslie Hackman, and his granddaughter, Annie, told Page Six on Thursday.
“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,” they continued.
“We will miss him sorely and are devastated by the loss.”
Santa Fe County sheriff’s deputies discovered the bodies of the 95-year-old Oscar winner, the 64-year-old classical pianist and one of their dogs on Wednesday afternoon in their New Mexico home.
There were two other canines on the property found alive.
Though the deputies did not initially suspect foul play, they soon changed their tune.
“The death of the two deceased individuals [is] suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation because the reporting party found the front door of the residence unsecured and opened,” the search warrant states.
“Deputies observed a healthy dog running loose on the property, another healthy dog near the deceased female, a deceased dog laying 10-15 feet from the deceased female in a closet of the bathroom, the heater being moved, the pill bottle being opened and pills scattered next to the female, the male decedent being located in a separate room of the residence, and no obvious signs of a gas leak.”
At one point, Elizabeth believed carbon monoxide poisoning might have led to her father and stepmother’s deaths.
Responding officers discovered Arakawa lying on her side on the bathroom floor near a countertop that contained “scattered” pills. They believe she may have fallen.
There was a space heater near her head, which police suspect could have tumbled off the counter if she fell abruptly.
There was also “bloating in her face and mummification in her hands and feet.” Due to the state of her body, authorities believe Arakawa may have been dead for some time.
As for Hackman, he was found in a room near the kitchen. It’s suspected that he also might have fallen, as his sunglasses were on the ground next to his body.
A man who suggested he worked the gate at the couple’s gated community was the one who placed the frantic 911 call.
The reclusive couple wed in 1991. They had no children together.
Gene shared Elizabeth, 62, Leslie, 58, and son Christopher Hackman, 65, with his first wife, Faye Maltese, who died in 2017.
