The bodies of Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 65, were discovered February 26 after maintenance and security workers called police.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office has been releasing redacted records on a rolling basis since a recent court order allowing them to be made public as long as any images of the dead couple are obscured. More are expected.
The latest release includes over three hours of police body camera video and builds what has already been made public, including a lengthy investigative report, photos and hours of body camera and security video showing the initial police response.
The new videos show authorities interviewing workers and returning to the home to search for more evidence early on in the investigation before they knew how Hackman and Arakawa died.
One hourlong video shows detectives searching the home in early March for Arakawa’s laptop and any other clues. Representatives of Arakawa’s family let them inside the house and led them to the bathroom where her body was found.
In another video a man who does pest control on the property tells officers that he has not seen Hackman in at least a month, but that it is normal to not see or talk to the couple during his monthly visits.
The last time he saw Hackman, he says, they waved to each other but did not speak.
“He was looking frail,” the worker says. “He was bent over with a cane. His hair was sort of wild.”
Authorities say Arakawa died of the rare hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rodent-borne disease that can cause a range of symptoms including flu-like illness, headaches, dizziness and severe respiratory distress. Hackman is believed to have died about a week later of heart disease with complications from Alzheimer’s disease.
One of the couple’s three dogs also was found dead in a crate near Arakawa’s body, while two other dogs were found alive. A state veterinary lab attributed the dog’s death to dehydration and starvation.
Hackman, a Hollywood icon, won two Oscars during a storied career in films including “The French Connection,” “Hoosiers” and “Superman” from the 1960s until his retirement in the early 2000s.
Arakawa, born in Hawaii, studied as a concert pianist, attended the University of Southern California and met Hackman in the mid-1980s while working at a California gym.
Hackman dedicated much of his time in retirement to painting and writing novels far from Hollywood’s social circuit. He served for several years on the board of trustees at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, and he and Arakawa were investors in local businesses.
