Entertainment
JUST IN: Chilling 911 Call Reporting Gene Hackman’s ‘Suspicious’ Death Is Revealed
A chilling 911 call reporting the death of Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman and his longtime wife has been made public, revealing a chaotic scene as a discoverer screamed and pleaded with authorities to send help.
The call was made by a “community caretaker” who discovered the “mummified” remains of Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa, 64, his wife of 24 years. The couple was discovered on the floor of their $3.3 million home in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
“Damn, damn!” a man shouted into the phone. “I think we just found a deceased person inside the house,” he continued, sniffling while two dogs barked in the background. One dog was found dead alongside the couple, according to initial media reports.
Asked to estimate the age of the bodies, the man said it was hard to tell.
“A female and a, a male, probably,” he went on. “I don’t know, sir, just send somebody up here quick. The house is closed, it’s locked… I can’t go in, but I see she’s laying on the floor.
“They’re not moving. Just send somebody up here,” he replied when a 911 operator suggested he knock on the window to see if they were sleeping.
Hackman and Arakawa were discovered partially mummified, according to the Daily Mail, likely a result of Santa Fe’s cool, drier wintertime air. Skin and other tissue on the body was unusually well-preserved for such a late discovery.
One question remaining unanswered is whether the home’s front door was left open, as stated in a search warrant affidavit by police, who said a maintenance worker discovered the couple. The 911 caller contradicted that, claiming the dwelling was inaccessible.
During an unrelated news conference this week, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza revealed that the body of a German shepherd had been found on the premises.
“There was no indication of a struggle,” Mendoza said. “There was no indication of anything that was missing from the home or disturbed, you know, that would be indication that there was a crime that had occurred.”
WATCH:
911 caller who discovered Gene Hackman, wife dead was shocked and shaken https://t.co/VZwhzTEqUb pic.twitter.com/O2WnYbhpk3
— New York Post (@nypost) February 28, 2025
Authorities are continuing to unravel the mystery surrounding the death of Hackman, who was found near the mudroom off the kitchen next to his sunglasses and cane. Investigators initially suspected he had fallen and hit his head.
Arakawa, meanwhile, was splayed out by an open bottle of prescription bills that had scattered across the bathroom floor. No external injuries were reported, leading investigators to rule out foul play.
While they wait four to six weeks for autopsy results, New Mexico Gas Co. confirmed it had tested natural gas lines leading to the house and found no evidence of a carbon monoxide leak.
According to the search warrant affidavit, police appear to have a working theory that some type of gas leak may have occurred, though it’s unclear how the gas could have dissipated in a home closed off for two weeks, according to Loyola Marymount University law professor Laurie Levenson.
“They don’t have clear evidence that it’s any type of homicide, but they’re asking for blunt instruments or other weapons that could be used,” Levenson, who has no connection to the investigation, told the outlet. “It doesn’t also look like some kind of planned double-suicide.”
