Gene Hackman Death: Can Pills, Phones, and Photos Unlock Mystery?

Where does the investigation go from here?

Besides work from the medical examiner, investigators are looking at pills found at the scene and the couple’s cellphones to piece together the last days of their lives.

“We’ll be analyzing cellphone data, phone calls, text messages, events, photos in the cellphone, to try to piece a timeline together,” Santa Fe Sheriff County Adan Mendoza said Friday.

Investigators removed two phones, blood pressure and thyroid medications, Tylenol, medical records, and a 2025 monthly planner from the home, according to a search warrant summary.

In the coming days, investigators will build a timeline for when the two were last seen alive and try to evaluate who spoke to them last. Mendoza described Hackman and Arakawa as “private individuals” who kept to themselves. There are no security cameras inside or outside the home for the investigators to draw upon, Mendoza said Friday.

Maintenance workers told investigators that they last spoke to the couple about two weeks before their bodies were found. Arakawa mainly communicated with the workers via text message or in phone calls.

How was the couple found?

Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 65, were found by a pair of maintenance workers in their housing community shortly before 2 p.m. on Wednesday.

The workers then notified a community caretaker, who went to the home and then called 911.

The caretaker didn’t have all the information when he called but knew he was looking through a window at two bodies lying on the floor inside.

How did they die?

The cause of the deaths is still under investigation.

Initial autopsy results ruled out carbon monoxide poisoning and found no signs of blunt force trauma on the couple’s bodies, he said.

The medical examiner will make a ruling on the official cause of death after receiving full toxicology and autopsy results — a process that Mendoza said could take months. Mendoza said at a news conference Friday that February 17 was the last day Hackman’s pacemaker showed activity and that it is “a very good assumption that it was his last day of life.”

Conclusion

As the investigation into the deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, continues, authorities are relying on a range of evidence, including pills, phones, and photos, to piece together the last days of their lives. The investigation is ongoing, and it may take weeks or even months for the cause of death to be determined.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

* What was the cause of Gene Hackman’s death?
The cause of death is still under investigation.
* How did Gene Hackman and his wife die?
The cause of the deaths is still under investigation.
* Did Gene Hackman have a pacemaker?
Yes, according to Sheriff Mendoza, Hackman’s pacemaker showed activity on February 17, which is “a very good assumption that it was his last day of life.”