A New Mexico couple who were close friends with the late Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa have shared their family’s last interactions with the Oscar-winning actor and his classical pianist wife.
“The last time that we saw them, they were alive and well,” Daniel Lenihan told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Friday.
He and his wife, Barbara Lenihan, lived just 10 minutes away from Hackman and Arakawa in Santa Fe, New Mexico, according to People. Daniel Lenihan had known Hackman since 1992, and Barbara Lenihan ran a home decor shop in Santa Fe with Arakawa.
“I’ve seen Betsy recently because she drops in the shop,” Barbara Lenihan told CNN, adding, “She was in there a couple weeks ago, three weeks ago, something like that.”
Also, around “two to three weeks ago,” the Lenihans’ son, Brendan Lenihan, received a “message” from Arakawa about the upcoming birth of his child, Barbara Lenihan told People.
“[Brendan] was telling Betsy it was a boy, and she was very excited,” she said. “It wasn’t a real long message, but then Brendan was hoping to hear back again soon.”
Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 65, were both found dead in their home on Wednesday, along with one of their three dogs. The state of their bodies indicated they had been dead for days. Data from Hackman’s pacemaker suggested that his last day of life was on Feb. 17 ― nine days before the bodies were found.
The investigation into the bizarre circumstances surrounding their deaths is ongoing. The two were found dead in different rooms, with Hackman appearing to have collapsed suddenly and Arakawa surrounded by an open bottle of scattered pills. One of their dogs, a German shepherd, was found dead inside a kennel near Arakawa’s body. Two living dogs were found elsewhere at the residence.
There were no apparent signs of external trauma to the bodies, and both have tested negative for carbon monoxide poisoning.
Barbara Lenihan told CNN that she and her husband have “no idea” what may have happened to their longtime friends.
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“We’re just shattered,” she said. “But we don’t know what happened.”