The investigation into the d.e.a.t.h.s of Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa has yielded new details.
Following the discovery of the couple and one of their three dogs’ bodies in their New Mexico home on February 26, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza provided new information on important evidence.
According to an affidavit for a search request obtained by NBC News on February 27, Arakawa, 65, was discovered on the bathroom floor next to a space heater and an open bottle of prescription medication, with pills thrown around the countertop. According to E!News, the medications taken from the home included an unnamed thyroid prescription, Tylenol pain reliever, and Diltiazem blood pressure pill.
As part of the search warrant, investigators took a 2025 monthly planner, two green cell phones, and documents from MyQuest, an online health lab results site.
Earlier that day, Mendoza stressed the significance of the drugs in the ongoing investigation, calling them “a matter of concern.”
Mendoza also said that a detailed report could take three months or more to complete.
It was determined yesterday that Gene Hackman’s pacemaker was last functioning on February 17, indicating that the Oscar-winning actor may have d.i.e.d nine days before he and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were discovered in their New Mexico home, according to the Santa Fe County Sheriff.
“An initial interrogation was conducted of Mr Hackman’s pacemaker. This revealed that his last event was recorded on February 17, 2025. I was advised that a more thorough investigation will be completed,” said Mendoza. “I think that is a very good assumption that that was his last day of life,” Sheriff Adan Mendoza said, according to Independent.
Leslie Anne Hackman, one of Gene Hackman’s three children, previously told DailyMail.com that she and her sister, Elizabeth Jean, suspected their parents perished from inhaling deadly fumes from a potential carbon monoxide leak.
However, once their d.e.a.t.h.s were discovered, Santa Fe City Fire and the New Mexico Gas Company tested the property for carbon monoxide and other harmful substances. Their study concluded that the region was safe.
