Gene Hackman Had 2 Other Dogs That Were Found Alive After He, Wife and Third Dog Were Discovered Dead: Reports

Mar. 15, 2025

Two dogs were reportedly found alive and “healthy” at the home ofGene Hackmanin Santa Fe, New Mexico, after he, wifeBetsy Arakawaand a third dogwere found dead.

Multiple outlets obtained a search-warrant affidavit following news that the couple and their pet had died, with the bodies being discovered at their residence on Wednesday, Feb. 26, per a statement from Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office public information officer, Denise Womack-Avila.

“A deceased dog laying 10-15 feet from the deceased female in a closet of the bathroom” was also found per the affidavit,Varietyreported, going on to say that other findings included “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.”

Gene Hackman in Los Angeles circa 1996.Ron Davis/Getty

Ron Davis/Getty

The deputy who found Arakawa’s body “advised he suspected the heater could have fallen in the event the female abruptly fell to the ground,” said the affidavit, according to the outlet.

It continued, perVariety, to say that Arakawa “showed obvious signs of death, body decomposition, bloating in her face and mummification in both hands and feet.”

Betsy Arakawa and Gene Hackman at the Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California, on Jan. 19, 2003.AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

Womack-Avila also said there were no obvious wounds to either Hackman nor his wife, like a gunshot for example, according toVariety.

Thedeaths of Hackman and Arakawa are “suspiciousenough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation,” the affidavit said, perABC News.

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Betsy Arakawa and Gene Hackman in Los Angeles on Nov. 30, 1991.Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty

Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty

Police were first called to the residence on Old Sunset Trail in Santa Fe around 1:45 p.m. on Wednesday, “where Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa and a dog were found deceased,” Womack-Avila said in a statement.

She added that “foul play is not suspected as a factor in those deaths at this time, however, the exact cause of death has not been determined.”

The sheriff’s office toldTMZthatThe French Connectionstar and his wife’s bodies hadbeen in their home for at least a daybefore deputies found them deceased.

source: people.com