There are still a lot of unanswered questions about what really happened to Gene Hackman, his wife Betsy Arakawa, and their dog Zinna.
Even though officials ruled their deaths as natural, investigators are keeping the case open. And a big part of that? The heartbreaking details surrounding Zinna’s death.
Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home
Gene Hackman, 95, and his wife Betsy, 65, were both discovered inside their Santa Fe, New Mexico home on February 26. One of their dogs, Zinna, was also found dead.
Their bodies were found by two maintenance workers who came to check on the house.
Their dog Zinna was also found dead under tragic circumstances
Zinna, a 12-year-old Australian Kelpie mix, was found inside a crate in the bathroom, just 10 to 15 feet from Betsy. The dog had recently undergone a medical procedure and had no food in its stomach.
Investigators are still waiting for necropsy results, but Erin Phipps, New Mexico State Public Health Veterinarian, believes Zinna most likely died from dehydration or starvation.
Two other dogs survived while Zinna did not
The couple had two other dogs, Bear and Nikita. Unlike Zinna, they had access to food and water through a dog door.
When authorities arrived, the two dogs were roaming the 12-acre property. That access to resources likely saved their lives.
Betsy Arakawa died first from a rare hantavirus infection
Investigators say Betsy died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), a deadly lung infection caused by rat droppings. Medical officials confirmed that the 65-year-old likely contracted it in the couple’s garage, where rodent activity was found.
HPS is incredibly rare — only about one or two people in the U.S. die from it each year. In the past 30 years, there have only been around 1,000 reported cases.
Gene Hackman was left alone in a fragile state
After Betsy died, Hackman, who suffered from advanced Alzheimer’s, was left alone. With no one to take care of him, he may have wandered through their massive 9,000-square-foot home, lost and confused, for days.
Investigators found no food in Hackman’s stomach at the time of his death
Hackman was found in a room off the kitchen, lying on the ground with his cane and sunglasses next to him. It looked like he had fallen. His autopsy revealed that his stomach was empty.
His pacemaker recorded its last activity on February 18 — meaning he had likely been dead for about a week before his body was found.
Investigators are keeping the case open due to ‘loopholes’
Santa Fe Sheriff Adam Mendoza made it clear: the case isn’t closing anytime soon.
“We consider this an open investigation until we close the loopholes of the cell phone, until we finish out the necropsy results of the canine and the other loose ends that we need to tie up,” he said.
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Even though both deaths were ruled as natural, Mendoza said they still need to examine more evidence before they can truly close the case.
Authorities are waiting for key forensic results
Investigators are waiting on a few things: cell phone records and the necropsy results of Zinna. Mendoza said they want to check the phone records to see if either Betsy or Gene tried to reach out for help in their final days.
Investigators want to examine cell phone records
Authorities recovered two cell phones from the home. Mendoza admitted that it’s “very unlikely” they’ll find anything new in the records, but they still want to check.
“I don’t know if he used cell phones or technology or emails, there’s no indication of that. So right now there is no activity from Mr. Hackman,” Mendoza said.
They also want to see if Betsy reached out to anyone before she passed.
“Again, we’re going through some of the communications, and I think the cellphones may have some indications of that prior to the 11th. But as of this moment, I don’t have any information that she was indicating that she was feeling ill during any communication,” Mendoza added.
No evidence of external trauma or foul play
Chief Medical Investigator Dr. Heather Jarrell confirmed there were no signs of foul play. The deaths were ruled as natural, and autopsies found no evidence of internal or external trauma.
Authorities also tested for carbon monoxide poisoning, since some had speculated that might have been the cause. But there were no traces of it in their bodies.
Right now, the case is still open. Investigators are waiting for phone records and necropsy results, hoping to tie up loose ends.
Sheriff Mendoza hasn’t given a timeline for when they’ll close it, but until they do, questions still remain about the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Gene Hackman, Betsy Arakawa, and their dog Zinna.
