Investigators say the deaths of actor Gene Hackman and his wife of more than 30 years, Betsy Arakawa, are “suspicious,” but there are no clear indications that foul play was involved.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office told Yahoo Entertainment that the couple’s bodies, along with their dog’s, were found in their Hyde Park, New Mexico, home on Wednesday at around 1:45 p.m. A search warrant affidavit from a detective working the case described the “suspicious” findings at the scene, despite the public information officer’s early Thursday morning statement that “foul play is not currently suspected as a factor.” While there are no overt indications of foul play, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza stated at a press conference later Thursday that they are not ruling it out, according to KOB4 Eyewitness News Albuquerque.
The deaths of Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 63, were deemed “suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation,” according to the warrant, which was obtained by media outlets such as ABC News.
The warrant states that the couple’s front door was “unsecured and opened.” Arakawa’s body was discovered in a bathroom, and two healthy dogs were discovered on the property—one “running loose” outside and the other inside. Arakawa, a classical pianist, was about 10 to 15 feet away from the dead dog, which was in a bathroom closet.
