Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found partially-mummified at the couple’s $3.3 million mansion, with pills strewn in their bathroom.
An arrest warrant obtained by DailyMail.com revealed Arakawa, 64, was found decomposed with bloating on her face and mummification in her hands and feet.
Sheriffs said Hackman was found to have the same signs of decomposition as his wife.
Mummification occurs when a person’s skin and tissues are preserved after their death. While most associate it with ancient Egyptians wrapping the corpses of pharaohs in bandages, it can also be achieved if a body is left in a place with cold, dry air where bacteria struggles to grow. Santa Fe is known to enjoy such a climate during winter.
Two maintenance workers called Roland Lowe Begay and Jesse Kesler discovered the bodies of Arakawa and her retired Hollywood star husband at their luxurious million Santa Fe mansion Wednesday at 1:46pm Mountain Time.
The identities of Hackman and Arakawa were not released for nearly 12 hours, with details of how the couple were found now offering a possible explanation for the delay.
Begay and Kesler told investigators they hadn’t seen them for two weeks. Both appear to have been dead for some time.
Arakawa was discovered lying on the bathroom floor of the couple’s home on her right side, with an open prescription bottle of pills scattered across a nearby countertop. No indication has been given as to what the pills were and whether they had been prescribed to Hackman or his wife.
Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa, pictured in 1993, were found partially-mummified at their Santa Fe mansion, sparking fears they may have been dead for weeks
Investigators are pictured at the couple’s $3.3 million Santa Fe mansion on Thursday morning
A space heater was found next to Arakawa’s head, which investigators believe may have fallen.
Hackman was found dead in a mud room off the couple’s kitchen, the warrant said. Police first spotted his legs on the ground in what appeared to be a mud room.
The Oscar-winning Superman star was fully clothed, in a gray sweat pants, a blue in color long-sleeve t-shirt, brown slippers.
His sunglasses and walking cane were found next to his body, suggesting he may have died of a sudden fall.
Arakawa was wearing dark grey sweatpants and a light-colored sweatshirt.
Firefighters were called to the property but there were no signs of a gas leak.
Hackman’s daughter Elizabeth had speculated earlier on Thursday that her father and stepmother may have been killed by a carbon monoxide leak.
One of the couple’s three dogs, a German Shepherd, was found dead about 10 to 15 feet away from Betsy in a closet just off the bathroom.
Earlier reports had suggested the animal was found dead in a kennel. The couple’s two other dogs were unharmed.
One of the surviving dogs was found alive close to Betsy’s body, with a second roaming the property.
Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were spotted in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in April, 2024
The hideaway properties of Gene Hackman in Santa Fe, New Mexico
The couple’s front door was open and there were no signs of forced entry.
Santa Fe Sheriff’s Department has said there is no suggestion of foul play but that an investigation is ongoing.
Hackman, a two-time Oscar winner with an estimated net worth of $80million, just turned 95 in late January. He became a recluse in the last 20 years of his life, after retiring from acting in 2004. He packed up his things, left Los Angeles for a quiet life in New Mexico – and he never looked back.
Friends occasionally shared glimpses of his post-acting life, including social media shots of fishing expeditions – while paying tribute to his silver screen triumphs. He would also occasionally be spotted pedaling around Santa Fe on a bicycle.
The gruff-but-beloved Hackman was among the finest actors of his generation, appearing as villains, heroes and antiheroes in dozens of dramas, comedies and action films from the 1960s until his retirement in the early 2000s.
He was a five-time Oscar nominee who won for The French Connection in 1972 and Unforgiven two decades later. His death comes just four days before this year’s ceremony.
Hackman met Arakawa, a classically trained pianist who grew up in Hawaii, when she was working part-time at a California gym in the mid-1980s, the New York Times reported in 1989. They soon moved in together, and by the end of the decade had decamped to Santa Fe.
