Law enforcement officials confirmed that an investigation is underway after Gene Hackman, a famous Oscar-winning artist, and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found dead on Wednesday alongside their dog in their house, which is located in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office made a disclosure to NBC News on Thursday that an analysis is still being conducted into the deaths of the famous artist and his family. The research is “active and ongoing,” according to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office continued,” The actual cause of death has not been determined, but foul play is never suspected as a factor in those incidents at this time.”
A speech about Hackman and Arakawa’s incidents was also made by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office to Fox News. Law enforcement officials said,” On February 26, 2025 at about 1: 45 p. m., Santa Fe County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to an address on Old Sunset Trail in Hyde Park where Gene Hackman, 95 and his family Betsy Arakawa, 64, and a dog were found dying”.
After a cousin contacted police and requested a welfare check at the Oscar-winning writer’s house, the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office informed an NBC advertising that the sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to Hackman’s home.
According to Fox News, Hackman won Oscars for his performances in” Unforgiven” and” The French Connection” and was featured in dozens of movies from the 1960s until the early 2000s.
Following Hackman’s death, Francis Ford Coppola, who directed one of the films Hackman starred in, released a statement on Instagram, saying,” 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. I mourn his loss, and celebrate his existence and contribution”.
Actor George Takei, known for his role in” Star Trek”, also released a statement on X, formerly Twitter, claiming that the world “lost one of the true giants of the screen” on Wednesday.
” Gene Hackman could play anyone, and you could feel a whole life behind it”, Takei tweeted. He could be a towering presence, a regular Joe, or both, according to the author. That’s how powerful an actor he was. He will be missed, but his work will live on forever.
