Forensic expert’s theory about the ‘unusual’ circumstances of Gene Hackman, wife’s deaths
A top forensic pathologist has weighed in on what he thinks could have happened to Gene Hackman and his wife to cause their mysterious and sudden deaths.
Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa’s deaths as well as that of their dog could be the result of a tragic accident, according to forensic pathologist Dr Michael Baden.
A criminal investigation into the deaths of Hackman and Arakawa was launched after New Mexico authorities found the 95-year-old actor, the 65-year-old classical pianist and one of their dogs dead in their Santa Fe home under circumstances deemed “suspicious.”
Maintenance workers found the couple, who wed in 1991, dead in their home.
Santa Fe Sheriff Department officials have said that there were no obvious signs of foul play and no external trauma was seen on either Hackman or Arakawa.
After preliminary autopsies were completed, Santa Fe Sheriff Adan Mendoza confirmed that the couple tested negative for carbon monoxide and Oscar-winning actor likely died about nine days before the bodies were discovered.
During an appearance on Fox Report, Dr Baden explained that Hackman’s pacemaker, which the sheriff said last recorded an event on February 17, could offer a key clue.
Investigators have suggested that Hackman was likely to have been dead for nine days prior to the discovery of his body based on his pacemaker details.
“That event would have been a cardiac arrest caused by an abnormal pulse rate,” he said. “The pacemaker keeps track of the pulse, and when it gets down too low, it discharges. And that’s all in the record.”
“So the autopsy showed he didn’t have any injury,” Dr Baden continued.
“There was no carbon monoxide. And he had — the most common cause of death in this country — severe heart disease, coronary artery disease and high blood pressure perhaps, from what’s been released. So that would cause him, having cardiac arrest in the mud room, to collapse right there.”
In a search warrant affidavit released by the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office and obtained by Fox News Digital, investigators stated that they found Hackman’s body on the floor in a mud room with a walking cane and sunglasses nearby.
According to the documents, the detectives suspected that the actor may have “suddenly fallen.”
Dr Baden shared his theory that Arakawa’s death may have occurred after Hackman’s pacemaker stopped while she was trying to help her husband.
The affidavit stated that Arakawa was found on the floor a bathroom with a space heater near her head, a prescription bottle nearby and pills scattered on a countertop.
Authorities listed thyroid medication, blood pressure medication and an over the counter painkiller among the items they took from the house.
“His wife was found in the bathroom,” Dr Baden said.
“They haven’t released the information about her findings, except that she did not have carbon monoxide in her, and that what appears to be from the scene and from what’s been said is that she found her husband in the mud room.”
Dr Baden explained that in an agitated state, Arakawa could have rushed to the bathroom to get Hackman’s blood pressure medication before falling to the floor while scattering the pills and taking the space heater down with her.
“She may have struck her head on the way down and had some internal injury to the brain that doesn’t show up on the outside or bleeding in the inside of the brain,” Dr Baden said. “Or that she may also, at 65, had severe heart disease and excitement can cause a trigger to the cardiac rhythm causing death under those circumstances. I think the first, that striking her head would be more common.”
According to the affidavit, a deceased dog, a German Shepherd, was found “10-15 feet” away from Arakawa in a closet of the bathroom.
It has emerged that “the dog was constrained in his cage or kennel and would have died from just dehydration and lack of water during the nine-day period that he couldn’t get out of the kennel.”
Dr Baden noted that his theory could explain why an emergency call wasn’t immediately made by Arakawa after Hackman experienced the cardiac event on February 17.
With the two of them isolated by themselves, he said, “that may have been the reason that 911 wasn’t called, for example, while his wife was trying to get him some medication and fell.”
HACKMAN’S HEALTH ‘SLIPPING’, WIFE ‘DISTANT’ BEFORE DEATHS
Gene Hackman’s health was “really slipping” in the months before his death, according to family friends.
Longtime family friends, Daniel and Barbara Lenihan and their son Aaron, have claimed the beloved actor was “essentially kind of home-bound” in the months leading up to his death.
The previously active star, who lived a reclusive lifestyle with his concert pianist wife, had “quit riding his bike through the neighbourhood” around a year ago, they said.
Speaking to People, Aaron revealed that Arakawa had been doing her best to keep her husband “as active and engaged and as healthy as possible”.
He said: “They seemed like real life partners, really, really close to each other, and they were both incredibly kind. And they were reserved, but they were real, (and) a lot of fun.”
Barbara added: “Gene was as proud of Betsy as she was of him. She had been a concert pianist. Over at their house, she had a special building, a studio that half of it was her grand piano (and) another half was Gene’s art studio.”
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza told reporters: “I think that is a very good assumption that that was his last day of life.”
It came amid claims that Arakawa had grown distant from her relatives in the months leading up to her and her husband’s tragic deaths.
A housekeeper for Arakawa’s mother said the pianist used to check in on the 91-year-old regularly, as the latter is battling dementia.
However, the worker, known as Keiko, told the Daily Mail, “Betsy hadn’t called her mother in months.”
Arakawa’s lack of contact left her family worried, the housekeeper claimed.
“She usually called every one or two months,” she said. “Last time she called was October. We were thinking, what happened?”
It’s unknown whether Arakawa was dealing with mental health issues before she died. However, a search warrant revealed police found her on the floor of a bathroom with pills scattered around a countertop.
‘VERY IMPORTANT EVIDENCE’ SEIZED AT HACKMAN’S HOME
Authorities seized three types of medications and electronics from the star’s $US3.8 million ($A6.1 million-dollar) New Mexico home.
Police confiscated two green mobile phones and multiple medicines — including Tylenol, a thyroid medication and Diltiazem, a calcium channel blocker used to treat high blood pressure or chest pain.
They also took a 2025 monthly planner and MyQuest records, a medical diagnostics service, according to the return and inventory section of the search warrant.
Although The French Connection actor and Arakawa did not show any external trauma, authorities deemed their deaths “suspicious” enough to warrant a full investigation. However, foul play is not suspected.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza told Today the spilt medication is “very important evidence” as they try to piece together the timeline of events.
“We’re looking at that specifically and other medications that were possibly in the residence,” he said Saturday. “So that is something of concern.”
Authorities will also review phone data, phone calls, texts, photos and more.
At this time, police don’t know who died first as autopsies to determine the case of their deaths are underway.
Hackman, who last appeared in the 2004 film Welcome to Mooseport, retired after his doctor advised him his heart “wasn’t in the kind of shape that I should be putting it under any stress,” he told a UK movie magazine in 2009.
Meanwhile, officials have warned that any official update on the cause of Hackman’s tragic death may still take a painfully long time to emerge.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Mendoza admitted that it could take months to reveal the actual cause of death.
He said that the toxicology report – which would be key to determine the cause of death – could take up to three months or even more.
Chris Ramirez, spokesman for the New Mexico medical investigator’s office said confirmation from the medical examiner’s office could still take anywhere between four to six weeks.
Police also aren’t entirely ruling out foul play, even with little evidence to support it. They say the toxicology report — which could take up to three months — will be key in determining the causes of their deaths and guiding their investigation.
Investigators said they did not find a suicide note and there were no blatant signs of trauma to their bodies.
Originally published as Forensic expert’s theory about the ‘unusual’ circumstances of Gene Hackman, wife’s deaths