Hollywood legend Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead at their home in Santa Fe on Wednesday 26 February. One of their dogs was also found deceased, with authorities recently admitting to an error in identifying it.
The couple’s death has since been under investigation as they were found partially ‘mummified’, according to the BBC, with authorities saying they could have been laying there for weeks before they were found.
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Arakawa’s mother hadn’t heard from her
Betsy Arakawa’s elderly mother, Yoshie Feaster, 91, hadn’t heard from her since October, despite the two having regular monthly phone calls. This is per the mother’s housekeeper, Keiko, who spoke with the Daily Mail.
Not hearing from Arakawa for months caused Feaster and the longtime housekeeper to seriously worry about her.
Gene Hackman likely died on 17 February
Following investigations on the deaths of the couple, Santa Fe Sheriff shared that it’s likely that Hackman died on 17 February, the date which authorities found his pacemaker had stopped at, nine days before the two bodies were discovered.
Investigators are still unsure which one of the couple passed away first, or if they died simultaneously.
Keiko informed Yoshie of Arakawa’s death but she forgot
The housekeeper said Yoshie had been informed of her daughter’s death as soon as the news had broke out, but Yoshie has since forgotten the news due to her dementia.
“She talked to a New Mexico policeman the other day. But she has dementia so she forgot already. I feel so sorry for her,” Keiko said.
“She was very upset. But right now she’s kind of normal,” the housekeeper of 20 years added on Yoshie.
Arakawa left her mother worried
The housekeeper said Arakawa had no surviving close relatives other than her elderly mother.
Keiko also said, “Betsy hadn’t called her mother in months. She usually called every one or two months. Last time she called was October. We were thinking, what happened?”
Police are still investigating the deaths
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza told NBC on 28 February that Hackman’s pacemaker was found to have stopped on 17 February, which makes it the likely date of his death. He also added it’s “very difficult to determine” whether the couple had died simultaneously.
“There’s no indication that anyone was moving about the house or doing anything different, so it’s very difficult to determine if they both passed at the same time or how close they passed together,” he said.
Mendoza also added, “We’re trying to put that information together and, obviously, with the assistance of the office of the medical investigator, I think the autopsy report is going to be the key to this investigation.”
