health was “slipping” in the months preceding his death, friends have alleged. Gene, 95, was in his Santa Fe home alongside his wife Betsy Arakawa, 64, and one of their dogs. Two other dogs survived and have been rescued from the property.
As the mystery surrounding the deaths continues to mount – with estimates the pair had been dead for at least 10 days emerging based on when Gene’s pacemaker stopped – their friends have claimed that Gene’s health was declining in recent months after a heart attack scare in the nineties.
Daniel and Barbara Lenihan claimed Gene was “essentially kind of home-bound” as his health had started to slip, while Gene had “quit riding his bike through the neighbourhood” around a year ago. Another friend said Gene’s car – which remained parked in the driveway – “was like it hadn’t moved in a few months” before the couple were found dead.
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Gene Hackman was ‘home-bound’ in recent months (Image: Getty)
Aaron Lenihan, the son of Daniel and Barbara, said Betsy “tried to keep [Gene] active and engaged” with puzzles and yoga, but had to be careful he didn’t contract , explaining she “was very protective of him in terms of , so she’d always wear a mask when we’d see her out.”
They added that Gene was “really slipping” in the “last couple of months” in terms of his health.
The couple’s cause of death is still unknown, with police finding no evidence of a gas leak after theories carbon monoxide could be responsible for their passing were raised.
Police offered an update on the mysterious deaths (Image: Getty)
Authorities first claimed no foul play was suspected, but it has since been amended in an affidavit that their deaths were “suspicious” and investigations are ongoing.
Gene’s pacemaker was last active on February 17th, and the bodies of Gene and Betsy had begun to “mummify” after being left for nearly two weeks.
There was an “unsecured and opened door, (how) deputies observed a healthy dog running loose on the property, another healthy dog near the deceased female, a deceased dog laying 10-15 feet from the deceased female in a closet of the bathroom, the heater being moved, the pill bottle being opened and pills scattered next to the female, the male decedent being located in a separate room of the residence, and no obvious signs of a gas leak.”