Sheriff: Gene Hackman likely dead for at least a week before his body was found

The bodies of Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were discovered in their Sante Fe home on Wednesday.

By William Hughes | February 28, 2025 | 7:45pm

Photo: Donaldson Collection/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

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Sheriff: Gene Hackman likely dead for at least a week before his body was found

Gene Hackman had likely been dead for at least a week before his body was found, New Mexico authorities are now reporting. This is per Deadline, quoting Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza, who stressed that a final autopsy and toxicology report in the deaths of Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa was still pending, and may take months to arrive. However, Mendoza did reveal that Hackman’s pacemaker was last found to have been active on February 17, meaning that he had likely been dead for more than a week when his body was found in his Sante Fe home on Wednesday, February 26.

Mendoza also reiterated those scant details that have been revealed about how Hackman and Arakawa’s bodies were discovered over the last few days, including the fact that they were discovered in separate rooms, and that one of the couple’s dogs was also found dead in a bathroom closet. (Another dog was found alive inside the residence, while a third was reportedly found alive outside on the property.) Authorities have stated that there has been no sign of a gas leak in the home, and Mendoza has said that initial results seemed to rule out carbon monoxide as a cause of death for Hackman, Arakawa, or the dog.