Gene Hackman cops reveal new detail on how star, 95, wife & pet dog were found dead as mystery looms over triple tragedy
HEART-WRENCHING new detail has emerged spelling out how police officers came across the lifeless bodies of Hollywood legend Gene Hackman, his wife, and their pet dog.
Police discovered the Oscar winner, 95, at his $3.8million mansion on Wednesday afternoon when they uncovered the triple tragedy.
Mystery currently surrounds their shocking deaths as police say they suspect no foul play but are desperately awaiting a search warrant to scour the property.
The Santa Fe County sheriff said: "All I can say is that we're in the middle of a preliminary death investigation, waiting on approval of a search warrant," Adan Mendoza, the Santa Fe County sheriff said.
Cops have not revealed a cause of death but shared tragic new details about the heartbreaking tragedy.
“On February 26 2025 at approximately 1.45pm, Santa Fe County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to an address on Old Sunset Trail in Hyde Park where Gene Hackman, 95, and his wife Betsy Arakawa, 64, and a dog were found deceased," a police statement said.
It comes as...
- The star was found dead alongside his wife Betsy Arakawa and their pet dog at their home in Santa Fe, cops said.
- Gene was last spotted with his wife in 2024 just weeks after his 94th birthday
- Cops have not revealed the acting legend's cause of death but say there are no signs of foul play
- Police also said an "active investigation" has been launched into the couple's shocking death
- Tributes to Gene and Betsy pour in from fellow Hollywood actors and stars
- Gene made a haunting comment on his "fear" of death
- The actor's pal revealed how he went from the least likely to succeed at school to a two-time Oscar winner
- Gene had a "difficult" relationship with his kids and lost touch with his son
- The police statement has been released in full
- How Gene met his second wife, who he was married to for 34 years, at the gym
Police added the case had become an "active investigation" as they look to uncover what led to this tragedy.
Sheriff Adan Mendoza told The Santa Fe New Mexican: “I want to assure the community and neighbourhood that there’s no immediate danger to anyone.”
The actor previously shared a haunting comment about his fear of death, saying it was the only thing that scared him.
He told Empire in a 2009 interview: "I try to take care of myself. I don't have a lot of fears. I have the normal fear of passing away.
"You know, I guess we all think about that, especially when you get to be a certain age. I want to make sure that my wife and my family are taken care of. Other than that, I don’t have a lot of fears."
Hackman was married twice, tying the knot with Faye Maltese in 1956.
The couple had three children - one son and two daughters.
They were married for three decades, divorcing in 1986.
He and classical pianist Betsy had been married since 1991.
HEARTFELT TRIBUTES
Floods of messages from fellow Hollywood stars have poured in to remember the acting legend and his special career.
American actor George Takei said Gene's work "will live on forever".
"We have lost one of the true giants of the screen. Gene Hackman could play anyone, and you could feel a whole life behind it," Takei said.
"He could be everyone and no one, a towering presence or an everyday Joe. That’s how powerful an actor he was."
The great filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, who worked with Gene in the 1974 film The Conversation, remembered him as a "great actor".
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“The loss of a great artist, always cause for both mourning and celebration: Gene Hackman a great actor, inspiring and magnificent in his work and complexity," Coppola said.
"I mourn his loss, and celebrate his existence and contribution.”
