Video shows Gene Hackman's home was a cluttered mess

Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News on Apr 16, 2025

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The New Mexico home of Gene Hackman where the actor and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found more than a week after the couple died in February appeared to have been a cluttered mess.

Video released by Santa Fe authorities shows police officers exploring the $4 million house on Feb. 26 after receiving a 911 call expressing concern for the pair. It shows officers walking past a body on a bathroom floor that was likely Arakawa’s.

“When was the last time you heard from her?” a female officer asks one of her colleagues.

He responded that it had been about two and a half weeks.

That bathroom is also where authorities spotted one of the pair’s two German shepherds, whom they noted was friendly. Another of the couple’s dogs was found dead in a kennel. That pet appeared to have died from starvation and dehydration.

One officer said he hadn’t yet taken photos. Several pictures were later released.

They show clothing strewn throughout the home. Several bathroom drawers were half-open. A closet was stuffed with clothing wrapped in plastic. Countertops and surfaces throughout the house were covered in clutter.

Hackman is believed to have died from heart heart failure coupled with advanced Alzheimer’s around Feb. 18. He was 95. A medical examiner determined Arakawa, 65, died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome nearly a week earlier.

That sickness is caused by a virus typically spread by rats and mice. The couple’s New Mexico property was rife with signs of rodent infestation, TMZ reported Tuesday. There were indications the couple was sick before their deaths.

Arakawa reportedly researched symptoms associated with COVID-19. The illness that caused her death can be similarly accompanied by flu-like symptoms including fever, muscle aches and fatigue.

People reported Tuesday that the pair had been laid to rest following a private memorial.

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