Gene Hackman and Wife’s Deaths Called ‘Suspicious’ By Police

When news first broke of the death of Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman at the age of 95, early reports on his passing claimed there was “no immediate indication of foul play.” But Hackman’s body was found on Wednesday by several maintenance workers (according to TMZ) who also found the body of Hackman’s wife, Betsy Arakawa, along with the body of one of the couple’s dogs. And now, according to a search warrant affidavit, authorities in New Mexico believe “the death of the two deceased individuals to be suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation.”

Hackman was 95 years old; Arakawa was 63.

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The details reported by TMZ from the affidavit as possible evidence worthy of further investigation include the fact that “the reporting party found the front door of the residence unsecured and opened, deputies observed a healthy dog running loose on the property, another healthy dog near the deceased female, a deceased dog laying 10-15 feet from the deceased female in a closet of the bathroom, the heater being moved, the pill bottle being opened and pills scattered next to the female, the male decedent being located in a separate room of the residence, and no obvious signs of a gas leak.”

Their report also states that the maintenance workers who discovered the couple “hadn’t seen them in approximately 2 weeks,” and that when they arrived they found “the front door was ajar” with “no signs of forced entry.”

The couple lived in Santa Fe, New Mexico.