Gene Hackman, 95, his wife Betsy Arakawa, 64, and their pet dog were discovered at their Santa Fe residence last week and police are still searching for answers as to how they died. The actor’s body was discovered in the “mud room” days after his pacemaker stopped working on February 17, and Betsy’s “mummified” corpse was found in the bathroom. Many experts have weighed in on as to how the longtime couple could have both died at seemingly a similar period, including death investigator expert Joseph Scott Morgan on his podcast Bodybags.
Speaking on this week’s episode, Joseph shared: “If she (Betsy) was in a more advanced state of decomposition, then was she having some medical event where she entered the bathroom, trying to get to her meds. We don’t know anything about her medical history, but if she is on some type of medication that she depended upon day in and day out, and she collapses in a bathroom and passes away.
“One of the more sinister reasons for his death, is that Gene who depended upon her, if she has been dead for a while, sadly, he could have wandered about the house a while searching for the spouse that he loved and had been commited to for over thirty years, built a life there in Santa Fe and in one desperate attempt he’s trying to go for help.”
Gene Hackman photographed with his wife Betsy on the far right. (Image: Getty)
The reason Justin believed that Gene had been attempting to seek urgent attention for Betsy was because of how his body was discovered by the back door.
He continued: “He’s got his sunglasses, cane, and sweatpants on, and then he couldn’t take another step. He collapsed in that mud room. I don’t know if that is necessarily the case, but I do know that at this stage, we have more questions than answers.
A seperate pathologist concured that it is “not likely” that the couple took their lives together, as some have suggested.
James Gill, Conneticut’s Chief Medical Examiner told People magazine: “I’ve seen cases like that – usually they’re together in bed. The fact that they’re in two separate locations tells me that I think that’s less likely.”
Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office Holds Press Conference Regarding Death Investigation Of Actor Gene (Image: Getty)
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He further commented on Gene’s health issues, adding: “From the initial kind of circumstances, it seems like he may have collapsed – he’s got a history of heart disease. He’s got a pacemaker. So that would not be unusual.”
Gill dismissed the idea that Gene could have died of dehydration after Betsy’s death since Gene was ambulatory and not confined to a bed. Additionally, Gill posed critical questions about the timing of their deaths, querying: “Was the time of Gene’s death related to his wife? When did she die? That’s a little bit more of a grey area, I think.”
This follows a blunder in the police investigation where they incorrectly identified the deceased dog. Initially, it was believed that Bear, a German Shepherd, had passed away. However, Bear was found alive alongside their other dog, Nikita, an Akita-Shepherd mix. Tragically, it was Zinna, a 12-year-old Australian Kelpie mix, who was discovered dead at the scene.
Authorities did not perform a necropsy on Zinna, who was found in a kennel in a bathroom closet near Betsy, a sheriff’s office spokesperson said. Investigators initially noted the discovery of a “deceased brown in color German Shepherd canine.”
Sheriff’s office spokesperson Denise Womack-Avila acknowledged that deputies initially misidentified the breed of the deceased dog. “Our deputies, they don’t work with canines on a daily basis,” she said.