Police cast doubt on heartbreaking Gene Hackman death theory: ‘There’s loopholes’

Police have made a startling confession regarding their investigation into the heartbreaking death of the Hollywood legend and his wife.

Mystery continues to surround deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife as investigators confirm they are looking into “loopholes”. Officials revealed the causes of death of the 95-year-old actor and 65-year-old Betsy Arakawa on Friday, but Sheriff Adan Mendoza says there are still questions to be answered before closing the case.

The haunting details about the couple’s tragic last days were announced by a New Mexico medical examiner who revealed the actor died days after his wife from cardiac disease.

Arakawa, is believed to have died first on February 11 from a rare rodent disease called hantavirus pulmonary syndrome.

Hantavirus spreads when exposed to rodents’ urine, droppings, and saliva, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home. Picture: AFP.

But, while many questions have now been answered, Sheriff Mendoza said in a press conference that cops are still looking into the case to close “the loopholes.”

“We consider this an open investigation until we close the loopholes of the cell phones, until we finish out the necropsy results of the canine and the other loose ends that we need to tie up,” he said.

One of the couple’s dogs, Zinna, was also found dead at the property in a crate in a closet in the bathroom “10 to 15 feet” away from Arakawa’s body.

Their other two dogs, Bear and Nikita, were found alive but distressed at the property, police said.

Zinna had undergone a procedure at a local veterinary hospital “which may explain why the dog was in a crate,” the Sheriff said, as they wait to hear of its cause of death.

“But you know, I think we’re pretty close to the timeline and with the information that Dr. Jarrell provided,” Mendoza added.

It is possible the dog died from dehydration or starvation as canines do not get sick from hantavirus.

The two-time Academy Award winner who had “advanced Alzheimer’s disease” was in the sole care of his wife.

After her death, he was left alone in their four-bedroom Santa Fe home for seven days before he died around February 18.

US actor Gene Hackman. Picture: AFP.

This was when the last signal from the actor’s pacemaker was recorded.

He tested negative for hantavirus, Chief Medical Investigator Dr. Heather Jarrell revealed.

She said that due to the extent of his Alzheimer’s, it is possible that Hackman was unaware his wife was dead.

No one knew of their fates until February 26 when a neighbourhood caretaker called 911 after finding the couple in their home.

Hackman was found collapsed in the home’s mudroom with his sunglasses and a cane nearby.

A search warrant revealed that cops noted the legendary actor looked like he fell to the ground suddenly.

Investigators are awaiting cell phone records from the couple’s phones though it is “very unlikely” they will bring anything to light that authorities do not already know, the Sheriff said.

He added that there is no evidence that Hackman communicated with anyone in the week before his death.

“I don’t know if he used cell phones or technology or emails, there’s no indication of that,” he told reporters.

“So right now there is no activity from Mr. Hackman.”

But investigators retrieved communications from his wife, who was a concert pianist, detailing her final days.

An image of late US actor Gene Hackman is seen on a screen as US actor Morgan Freeman stands onstage during the 97th Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Photo: AFP.

Officers found that she had picked up Zinna from Gruda Veterinary Hospital on February 9 and had spoken with her massage therapist via email around 11:20 the morning of the day she died.

“Moving on into the afternoon, Ms. Arakawa was at the Sprouts farmers market between 3:30 and 4:15pm.,” Mendoza said.

About five minutes later, CCTV footage captured her at the local CVS Pharmacy.

Other emails were left unopened on February 11 and the Sheriff said “there was no additional outgoing communication from her, or known activity, after Feb. 11, 2025.”

The “cellphone information and the cell phone data is pending”, he added before cops close the investigation.

The Sheriff said that the information that may be gathered from Betsy’s cell phone could indicate when she started feeling unwell which could have been “roughly three to six days” before she died.

The medical examiner said the actor’s wife would have “succumbed pretty quickly after fluid began to build up in the lungs.”

“I think the cellphones may have some indications of that prior to the 11th,” Mendoza said.

“But as of this moment, I don’t have any information that she was indicating that she was feeling ill during any communication.”

This story originally appeared on The Sun and is republished here with permission.