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Unraveling Gene Hackman’s final act
Days after the grim discovery at their Santa Fe, N.M., home, the circumstances surrounding the death of Gene Hackman, his wife and one of their dogs remain a mystery.
The Oscar-winning actor and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found dead by maintenance workers Wednesday. While Hackman’s age, 95, doesn’t make his death all that surprising, the precise cause has so far eluded authorities — despite there being no obvious signs of foul play.
My colleagues Nathan Solis, Clara Harter and Richard Winton have the latest on the investigation, including local law enforcement sharing that they believe Hackman may have died on Feb. 17, the last day activity was registered on his pacemaker.
There were also pills found at the scene.
“We’ll be analyzing cellphone data, phone calls, text messages, events, photos in the cellphone, to try to piece a timeline together,” Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said at a news conference Friday.
Here’s what we know:
Couple was found in separate rooms
Maintenance workers found Hackman and Arakawa just before 2 p.m on Wednesday.
Eventually a community caretaker called 911.
Hackman’s body was discovered on the floor near the kitchen with a walking cane and sunglasses nearby, according to a court affidavit.
Arakawa’s body was located in a bathroom near the home’s entrance. Prescription pills were on a nearby countertop.
Police investigators recovered two green cellular devices, blood pressure and thyroid medications, Tylenol, medical records, and a 2025 monthly planner from the home, according to a search warrant summary.
Cause of death is under investigation
Medical investigators have not released an official cause of death for the couple or the German shepherd. The Santa Fe Sheriff’s Animal Control Division worked with the couple’s family to ensure the safety of the two surviving dogs.
The couple already showed signs of being dead for so long that paramedics did not attempt to revive them, officials said.
There had been early speculation that the couple may have died from carbon monoxide poisoning, but authorities said there is no evidence to back up that assertion.
Authorities also found no signs of forced entry at the property, or blunt force trauma on the couple’s bodies.
“This is an open investigation that’s a couple days old. We’re putting together the timeline. We’re trying to figure out all the evidence and the autopsy is key, and that is going to take some time,” Mendoza told the news program “Today.”
He asked for “a little bit of patience on the family’s part, on everybody’s part, so we can have some answers to these deaths.”
What happens next
Mendoza said the medical examiner has ordered several tests expedited. Even then, full toxicology and autopsy results will take time.
Another challenge for investigators is building a timeline — when were they last seen alive, who spoke to them last, etc. — for a couple Mendoza described as “private individuals.” There were no security cameras on the property.
For more details about the investigation, check out the full article here.
The week’s biggest stories
(Pierluigi Longo / For The Times)
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Trump administration policies and reactions
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Column One
Column One is The Times’ home for narrative and long-form journalism. Here’s a great piece from this past week:
(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
In the mid-1960s, Louvenia Jenkins posed a question to her mailman: Do any Black people live in Pacific Palisades? The mail carrier, a light-skinned Black man, told her there were about half a dozen or so, but they were “all passing.” As in, their skin was light enough that they could pass as white. Jenkins was then in her late 30s, living in a rented home in Santa Monica. She was an unmarried Black woman with darker skin. And she wanted to buy her own house in an era when many banks still refused to lend women money without a male co-signer.
More great reads
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For your weekend
(Illustrations by Lindsey Made This; photograph by David Johnson)
Going out
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L.A. Affairs
Get wrapped up in tantalizing stories about dating, relationships and marriage.
They seemed to have little in common. His father had been to federal prison for fraud and she was a career prosecutor. She dreamed of preparing sea urchins with a “sous chef” boyfriend, while he didn’t cook. She fantasized about backpacking the world, while Vegas was enough for him. He didn’t read; she wanted to be a writer. Yet, he was loyal and kind, something she valued highly. Would that be enough for her?
Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team
Andrew J. Campa, reporter
Luke Money, news editor
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