https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14463877/gene-hackman-death-update-gas-company-statement.htmlGene Hackman death update: Gas company issues fresh statement revealing results from probe
By NATASHA ANDERSON
Published: 11:57, 5 March 2025 | Updated: 13:34, 5 March 2025
The gas company aiding in the investigation into the deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa discovered a 'minuscule leak' in their Santa Fe home, but has determined it was 'not lethal'. Hackman, 95, and his wife, 65, were found dead, along with one of their dogs, in separate rooms of their home mansion in Santa Fe, New Mexico last Wednesday. Early speculation by Hackman's daughter Elizabeth Jean was that her father and his wife may have died from carbon monoxide poisoning or other 'toxic fumes'. But after an extensive investigation, the New Mexico Gas Company made 'no significant findings' of gas leaks or carbon monoxide in the home, the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office confirmed in a statement to DailyMail.com. The gas company did, however, issue five 'red tags' including one for the minor leak at the stove burner, which registered '0.03 per cent gas in the air' and is 'not a lethal amount'. 'The other four red tags were for code enforcement violations not involving gas leaks or carbon monoxide involving a water heater and gas log lighters installed in three fireplaces,' police said.
Authorities believe Hackman and Arakawa, whose bodies were partially mummified at the time of discovery, likely died a couple weeks before they were found. Tests on Hackman's pacemaker revealed that he was alive on February 17 when a 'last event' was recorded nine days before his body was discovered. Police say it is a 'reasonable assumption' that he died when his pacemaker had its 'last event'. Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza during a press conference Friday confirmed that both Hackman and Arakawa 'tested negative for carbon monoxide'. 'An initial interrogation was conducted of Mr Hackman's pacemaker,' he said. 'This revealed that his last event was recorded February 17 2025, I was advised that a more thorough investigation will be completed.'
Mendoza said the 'initial findings noted no external trauma to either individual', but reiterated the 'manner and cause of death has not been determined'. He also said there were 'no apparent signs of foul play'.
'The official results of the autopsy and toxicology reports are pending,' he added.
The shocking discovery of the bodies has puzzled investigators, who are still trying to determine how and when the couple died. Hackman and Arakawa were found by a neighbourhood security officer after pest-control workers reported not being able to get in touch with the residents. Authorities investigating the couple's deaths have already said a deadly carbon monoxide leak is unlikely. But an expert who is not involved in the investigation on Tuesday weighed in on another theory recently bandied about that Hackman and Arakawa may have died by 'companion suicide.' James Gill, Chief Medical Examiner for the Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, told People Magazine that the theory is an unlikely explanation for the puzzling deaths. Gill, who said he had dealt in the past with 'cases like that,' explained that couples who die in a dual suicide are 'usually together in bed.'
However, police have said that Hackman was found dead in the house's mud room, with his can and sunglasses near him on the ground. Arakawa was discovered lying on the bathroom floor with prescription pills strewn across the nearby countertop. 'The fact that they're in two separate locations tells me that I think that's less likely,' Gill continued.
The medical examiner said that the initial information about the scene makes it appear as if Hackman had 'collapsed.' 'He's got a history of heart disease. He's got a pacemaker. So that would not be unusual,' he said.
Another detail Gill focused on was the fact that Hackman was 'ambulatory' before his death, which he thought decreased the likelihood of a scenario in which he was left potentially helpless if Arakawa had died first. 'Sometimes we'll see instances where someone is bedridden and maybe they have dementia and then their caregiver dies from a natural event, and then there's no one there to take care of them, and then they can die from dehydration or what have you,' he explained. 'I don't think that's the case in this.'
That information could be particularly useful to compare to when Arakawa may have died, though Gill admits 'that's a little bit of a more gray area.'
New Mexico Gas Company tested gas lines in and around the home after the bodies were discovered, according to a search warrant, and no signs of problems were found. Officers are still trying to piece together the couple's last known contact with other people but 'that's one of our challenges because of their privacy,' Mendoza said.
The sheriff had previously said there were several conflicting stories about which doors were locked at the house he said several were unlocked and a rear door was open, which allowed two dogs that survived to go in and out. He also said he thought the front door was closed but unlocked. Two other dogs were found alive at the property, one inside and one outside. Cops investigating the pair's mysterious deaths have admitted to misidentifying the dog that was found deceased along with them in their home. Police initially said the couple's German Shepherd named Bear was found dead in its kennel inside the home, but the pup was actually alive and healthy at a pet daycare center in Santa Fe along with their other dog Nikita, a seven-year-old Akita-shepherd mix, according to USA Today. The dog that was actually found dead in the home with the couple was Zinna, their 12-year-old reddish Australian Kelpie mixed breed, Sherry Gaber, a friend of the couple, told the outlet. Gaber, an animal chiropractor, was already thrown off by the news of Hackman and Arakawa's deaths, but when she heard about Bear, she couldn't wrap her head around it. Just five months prior, Gaber said she adjusted Bear, who was happy and healthy. 'I can’t handle that image,' Gaber said, recalling news of Bear's apparent death. 'That’s why this whole thing is so distressing. It just doesn’t add up.'
Nikita and Bear are both staying at Santa Fe Tails, a local pet daycare, according to Joey Padilla, the owner of the facility. It is unclear how the deceased dog was misidentified, but a spokeswoman with the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office told the outlet she wasn't aware of the mix-up. Hackman and Arakawa were both found dead in the $3.8million home in separate rooms by a caretaker around 1.45pm last Wednesday. The alarm had been raised by a maintenance person doing pest control at the property, who was concerned because he had not seen the couple, police said. A search was carried out after the bodies were discovered and several items were 'secured from the residence for evidentiary purposes'. These included two green mobile phones, two bottles of medication, medical records and a 2025 monthly planner. Work is now being done to 'sift through cell phones' and to look through a calendar found near the couple's bodies. Contact will also be made with workers, security staff and family members. Mendoza said there is nothing which suggests the couple fell, adding: 'I don't think, you know, there was any indication that, again, there was no trauma or injured themselves, or head injury or brain injury.'
The moment when a pacemaker stops working could mark the point when a person dies but not always, according to Dr Philip Keen, the retired chief medical examiner in Maricopa County, Arizona. He said later: 'If your heart required a pacemaker, there would certainly be an interruption at that point and it might be the hallmark of when the death occurred. But it's not necessarily because some people get a pacemaker to augment things, not necessarily replace things.'
He also felt it would be unlikely for a person who tests negative for carbon monoxide initially to later be found to have been poisoned by it. Hackman, who was widely respected as one of the greatest actors of his generation, was a five-time Oscar nominee who won best actor in a leading role for The French Connection in 1972 and best actor in a supporting role for Unforgiven two decades later. His daughters Elizabeth and Leslie, and his granddaughter Annie, said they will miss the actor 'sorely' and are 'devastated by the loss'. News of their mysterious deaths has left friends, fans, and the local community baffled. Friends of the couple told DailyMail.com that Hackman and Arakawa were 'true animal lovers, known for treating their beloved dogs 'as if they were their own children'.
Animal advocates who knew the family say Hackman was a 'softy' and he and Arakawa were devoted dog owners who 'would never, ever put them in harm's way'. 'Gene was what I would call a confirmed German Shepherd aficionado. I could not imagine him without a Shepherd,' Steff Smith, the founder of the Southwest German Shepherd Society in Phoenix, Arizona told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview.
'He was also a major softy. I recall him shedding tears upon meeting the first dog he adopted from us.'
The couple ended up adopting two dogs from the shelter in the early 2000s and remained longtime supporters and friends of the non-profit, according to Smith. Smith first met the couple in 2005, when they were looking for a new friend for Hackman's German Shepherd, Duke, who the actor famously adopted as a stray while he was filming The Replacements in 1999. Smith arranged for a meet-up at a park in order to assess Duke's interaction with Maisie, a young female German Shepherd, who quickly became a member of the Hackman family. 'They brought their dog Duke with them. They were staying at a high-end resort in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area and contacted me,' explained Smith.
'Betsy could certainly hold her own with the big dogs and was committed to their health and care. If one presented so much as a hang nail, they would get a full work-up. The word that comes to mind when I think of Betsy is warm, a genuinely warm and giving, yet sharp lady,' Smith fondly recalled.
'We communicated for years, exchanging pictures, Maisie and Duke playing on the property, swimming, playing with each other, you name it. When you share your life with a German Shepherd it's much more like having a roommate, than a pet. They are all about their person.'
Two years later in 2007, the couple returned after their beloved Duke died. 'It gave you an indication that Gene could not be without a dog that he lost very long at all.'
Enter Roscoe, a handsome male German Shepherd who became Maisie's new bestie. Smith shared photos of that day with DailyMail.com where Roscoe was introduced to the Hackman family who were all smiles with the arrival of their new pup. 'We stayed in touch and remained long-distance friends. You could not meet two nicer, kinder people,' the German Shepherd expert told DailyMail.com.
Gene had adopted Duke back in 1999 while working on the movie The Replacements in Baltimore after two stray German Shepherds were found wandering inside the Raven's Stadium where they had been filming. Phil Staelens still remembers the day two dogs arrived at his Pennsylvania-based animal organization, in a limousine provided by the actor, himself. 'These two German Shepherds were about one or two years old. We named them Gene and Keanu. Gene ended up adopting one of the dogs, the one named Gene, but he actually renamed him Duke, in honor of his close friend John Wayne,' said Staelens who with his wife Grace Froelich founded Animal Rescue, Inc. in New Freedom, Pennsylvania in 1978.
The other pup, Keanu, was adopted by another loving family Staelens told DailyMail.com. 'They were very humble people. They were very nice. Gene was just like a regular person. He didn't want anything special' said Staelens.
'Betsy even ended up volunteering here while they were filming. She scooped up poop, she did it all.'
