An investigation has been launched into the deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa.
The couple and their dog were found dead inside their Santa Fe, NM, home by Santa Fe County police on Wednesday afternoon.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office told NBC News Thursday that there’s “an active and ongoing investigation” into Hackman and Arakawa’s deaths.
According to a statement from the sheriff’s public information officer, Denise Womack Avila, deputies were called at about 1:45 p.m. Wednesday to an address on Old Sunset Trail in Hyde Park.
Police went to Hackman’s home after a neighbor called authorities to carry out a welfare check, the sheriff’s office told an Albuquerque reporter, per NBC News.
Hackman and Arakawa’s bodies were not identified until 12:30 a.m. Thursday.
“Foul play is not suspected as a factor in those deaths at this time however exact cause of death has not been determined,” Avila’s statement said.
The Post has reached out to Hackman’s representatives and the sheriff’s office for comment.
Celebrity forensic pathologist Michael M. Baden appeared on Fox on Thursday and said he thinks the couple died of “accidental carbon monoxide poisoning.”
He speculated that a car’s motor engine may not have been turned off and the exhaust went from the garage into the house, killing Hackman, Arakawa and their dog.
“They don’t feel any pain. They don’t know anything’s wrong,” said Baden. “It’s silent, carbon monoxide, it’s painless, and they just go to sleep.”
Baden added, “It can also happen from a boiler that malfunctions and produces carbon monoxide,” he said.
Hackman, one of the most accomplished actors of all time, was 95.
Arakawa, a classic pianist who was married to Hackman since 1991, was 63.
Hackman won two Oscars for his roles in “The French Connection” and “Unforgiven.” He also won three Golden Globes and was bestowed the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2003.
His other famous films include “Bonnie and Clyde,” “Mississippi Burning,” “Superman,” “A Bridge Too Far,” “Hoosiers,” “The Firm” and “The Royal Tenenbaums.”
He took his final bow in 2004’s “Welcome to Mooseport” and retired from Hollywood, opting to move to New Mexico with his wife.
“The straw that broke the camel’s back was actually a stress test that I took in New York,” Hackman told Empire in 2009. “The doctor advised me that my heart wasn’t in the kind of shape that I should be putting it under any stress.”
After quitting acting, Hackman went on to co-write adventure novels such as “Justice For None” and “Wake of the Perdido Star” with his friend, underwater researcher Daniel Lenihan.
Hackman and his wife made their final appearance in public together nearly a year before their deaths.
The couple were pictured on March 28, 2024, at Pappadeaux’s Seafood Kitchen in New Mexico. Hackman used a cane at the time.
Hackman was previously married to Faye Maltese, who died in 2017. They had three children together, Christopher, Elizabeth Jean and Leslie Anne.
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