Gene Hackman, Betsy Arakawa’s shocking death raises alarming questions

Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa’s death in their Santa Fe home has made a pathologist wonder why emergency services were not called immediately.

Following their passing, authorities said it looked like both had been dead for days.

Earlier this week, the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office declared that there were “no significant findings” of gas leaks or carbon monoxide in their home. So, it is still unclear what happened to the couple.

James Gill, Chief Medical Examiner in Connecticut, is not part of the investigation, but he shared his thoughts.

He articulated, “Initially I was thinking carbon monoxide. You’re thinking of something that all the people would be exposed to. But the fact that that’s negative, then you start wondering about not only the cause of death but the manner of death.”

Gill thought that, based on the situation, the Oscar-winning actor may have collapsed, saying, “He’s got a history of heart disease. He’s got a pacemaker. So that would not be unusual. But the unusual part is, why then did she also collapse?”

He added, “If she had found him alive, why didn’t she call 911? Which, you know, usually that’s a person’s first instinct.”

“Maybe they had agreed that if he was found, he didn’t want to be resuscitated. She may have panicked and then either had a primary heart event herself, a cardiac event, or maybe she got despondent and she took pills,” Gill suggested.

He stated that the medical examiner will check for any injuries from a fall and toxicology and autopsy results should show if drugs were involved or if there were any injuries.

“I think the autopsy and the toxicology testing are really going to be what’s needed in order to make that final determination. Otherwise, it’s kind of speculation at this point,” Gill noted.

Talking about other possibilities, he assumed that Betsy might have died first and Gene “found her and was going out to get help or get his phone, and he then collapsed from the stress of that, too.”

“Just as likely. He’s older; he’s got known heart disease. But the autopsy would certainly show if she had heart disease or cancer or what have you,” Gill remarked.