Early days of Hackman investigation detailed by police

Law enforcement officials talk outside the home of actor Gene Hackman on Feb. 27, 2025 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. (AP Photo/Roberto Rosales)

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Authorities released more videos Friday related to their investigation of the deaths of actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, including images of agents returning to the couple’s Santa Fe home days after they were found to look for more evidence.

The bodies of Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 65, were discovered Feb. 26 after maintenance and security workers called police.

The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office has been releasing redacted records on a rolling basis since a recent court order allowing them to be made public as long as any images of the dead couple are obscured. More are expected.

The latest release includes hours of police body camera video and builds on what has already been made public, including a lengthy investigative report, photos and hours of body camera and security video showing the initial police response.

The new videos show authorities interviewing workers and returning to the home to search for more evidence early on in the investigation before they knew how Hackman and Arakawa died.

An hourlong video shows detectives searching the home in early March for Arakawa’s laptop and any other clues. Representatives of Arakawa’s family let them inside the house and led them to the bathroom where her body was found.

In another video, detectives are reviewing security videos at a pharmacy for any footage of Arakawa in mid-February.

The employee helping them asks what they’re looking for, and one of the detectives says a woman is dead.

“We’re trying to see her last moments,” the detective says.

Another video shows a man who does pest control on the property telling officers that he has not seen Hackman in at least a month, but that it is normal to not see or talk to the couple during his monthly visits.

The last time he saw Hackman, he says, they waved to each other but did not speak.

“He was looking frail,” the worker says. “He was bent over with a cane. His hair was sort of wild.”

Authorities say Arakawa died of the rare hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rodent-borne disease that can cause a range of symptoms including flu-like illness, headaches, dizziness and severe respiratory distress. Hackman is believed to have died about a week later of heart disease with complications from Alzheimer’s disease.

One of the couple’s three dogs also was found dead in a crate near Arakawa’s body, while two other dogs were found alive. A state veterinary lab attributed the dog’s death to dehydration and starvation.

The Associated Press