Gene Hackman dead at 95: Iconic actor and wife, 63, are found dead with their dog at Santa Fe home.

[stargazer17]

IMO, (as i have discussed earlier) -- I think this may be more of a case of poisoning via food rather than carbon monoxide.

Aah! I hadn’t thought of that. The CO poisoning didn’t make sense because 2 dogs were alive and the door was open. But food poisoning, that makes sense!

 

[friendlysleuther]

911 operator: are they breathing?

Caretaker: I have no idea, I'm not in the house. It's closed and (locked?)

1:20 timestamp

Gene Hackman 911 Caller Emotional on Phone, Says He Can't See Anyone Moving

Gene Hackman and his wife were inside their home, not moving ... and the sight of them got the 911 caller very emotional, TMZ has learned.

www.tmz.com

This was not the caretaker, it was the security guard. Even then, they did not have a caretaker-- It was a maintenance man who called security.

I discussed this further in this post

 

[iamshadow21]

A couple things I'm wondering about.



So, the caretaker was the 9/11 caller. He stated the door was locked.

Two maintenance workers stated the door (assuming it's the same door) was ajar.

Who was at the house first, and if it was the maintenance workers, why didn't they phone police if the bodies were in plain view?

If they were there after the caretaker, why was the door now open?





I would imagine that a person falling and knocking over a space heater would leave some sort of mark or damage to the body, but I suppose it's possible not to.



Is the "also" in that statement indicating that Betsy's body showed more decomposition than Gene's, possibly implying she died before him?

Source

It's a misleading wording that is causing a lot of misconceptions. If you read the affidavit, his body condition is listed as consistent with and similar to her own. So there's nothing in the actual document that implies they died at different times. Quite the reverse.

MOO

 

[Fabled Automatic]

[1 + 2] Sounds like this was the security (911 Caller), not maintenance workers.

[1 + 2] Not care takers, rather, 1 maintenance worker- Who called security.

• "Deputy Thomas advised the female decedent showed obvious signs of death, bodydecomposition, bloating in her face and mummification in both hands and feet."
• "Deputy Thomas advised the male decedent also showed obvious signs of death, similar andconsistent with the female decedent."

[SOURCE/ AFFIDAVIT]
______________

• [1] An individual arrived to perform maintenance on the residence, became concerned after receiving no answer, and contacted neighborhood security to conduct a welfare check. Security then checked on the residence and observed Hackman and Arakawa on the ground unresponsive through a window and called 911.

[SOURCE/ PRESS RELEASE]

• [2] When Deputy Thomas and Barron arrived, Deputy Thomas indicated he spoke to two individuals (one of which was the reporting party) who found and located the front door of the residence( ) to be opened/ajar. Deputy Thomas identified the reporting party (RP) to be a male named Roland Lowe Begay ( /65). Roland advised he works as maintenance worker for a company called “Hoam Company.” The other maintenance worker was identified as JesseKesler (72.)

[SOURCE/ AFFIDAVIT]

Thank you for the source!

I'm still trying to wrap my head around this.

So, there's 2 people in total, not 3. Maintenance was on scene first. They claim the door was locked. Security is the 911 caller, they claim the door was ajar.

So, am I right to assume that either we're talking about two different doors, or its one door, which was opened at some point between maintenance arriving on scene and security phoning 911?

 

[Quill]

Dogs actually can't detect carbon monoxide..

While CO may be odorless and no smell is detected, I would not go so far as to say they can't "sense" it. Dogs have heightened senses that supersede humans and they react to different stimuli that we do not understand and cannot explain. They have many times alerted humans to something being "wrong" well before the humans can see signs. Here is just one case.

Woman Says Hero Rescue Dog Saved Her from Carbon Monoxide Leak: 'Don't Know Where I'd Be'

An Indiana woman revealed that her rescue husky Luna saved her life after the dog "bugged" her to exit her apartment amid what turned out to be a significant carbon monoxide leak.

people.com

 

[CityKid]

Even so, I would think that someone would notice that their mail and packages weren’t being picked up.

Not for two weeks. My building has a package room and I've been away on vacation or work projects for longer than that. A lot of rich people own vacation homes in Santa Fe, using them during ski season and/or opera season.

 

[Fabled Automatic]

While CO may be odorless and no smell is detected, I would not go so far as to say they can't "sense" it. Dogs have heightened senses that supersede humans and they react to different stimuli that we do not understand and cannot explain. They have many times alerted humans to something being "wrong" well before the humans can see signs. Here is just one case.

Woman Says Hero Rescue Dog Saved Her from Carbon Monoxide Leak: 'Don't Know Where I'd Be'

An Indiana woman revealed that her rescue husky Luna saved her life after the dog "bugged" her to exit her apartment amid what turned out to be a significant carbon monoxide leak.

people.com

To add to this:

But can dogs actually detect carbon monoxide? The answer is yes, they can. Dogs have an incredibly powerful sense of smell, and they are able to detect even trace amounts of certain chemicals in the air. Studies have shown that dogs can be trained to detect carbon monoxide with a high level of accuracy, making them valuable allies in keeping our homes safe.


In recent years, there have been several interesting trends related to the topic of dogs detecting carbon monoxide as it relates to pets. Let's explore some of these trends:


1. Increasing Interest in Carbon Monoxide Detection Dogs: There has been a growing interest in training dogs to detect carbon monoxide in homes and public spaces. These specially trained dogs can sniff out even the smallest amounts of carbon monoxide, alerting their owners to potential dangers before they become life-threatening.

Can Dogs Detect Carbon Monoxide

 

[NuttMegg]

This was not the caretaker, it was the security guard. Even then, they did not have a caretaker-- It was a maintenance man who called security.

I discussed this further in this post

0:02 timestamp
Caller: "I'm the Caretaker"

Gene Hackman 911 Caller Emotional on Phone, Says He Can't See Anyone Moving

Gene Hackman and his wife were inside their home, not moving ... and the sight of them got the 911 caller very emotional, TMZ has learned.

www.tmz.com

 

[Fabled Automatic]

Just to point out how confusing the reporting is on this. This article states a maintenance worker called police, reported the door was open, but stated he could not get inside...

According to a search warrant affidavit, a maintenance worker called police after finding the bodies Wednesday. He reported the home’s front door was open when he arrived to do routine work.

In a 911 call, the maintenance worker said he could see Hackman’s wife, 63-year-old Betsy Arakawa, laying on the floor through a window but he was unable to get inside.

Source

 

[Sunshynn]

So, there's 2 people in total, not 3. Maintenance was on scene first. They claim the door was locked. Security is the 911 caller, they claim the door was ajar.

So, am I right to assume that either we're talking about two different doors, or its one door, which was opened at some point between maintenance arriving on scene and security phoning 911?

IMO, it's not clear.
The front door is definitely the one that was left unsecured/ajar because that is how it is listed in the search warrant.
The 911 caller reports looking through a window and seeing the bodies with no way to get in.

"However, the caller does say he can't see anyone moving inside the house ... he's not in the house with them, but outside looking through a window with no way of getting in."

Gene Hackman 911 Caller Emotional on Phone, Says He Can't See Anyone Moving

Gene Hackman and his wife were inside their home, not moving ... and the sight of them got the 911 caller very emotional, TMZ has learned.

www.tmz.com

But the search warrant states that "..the reporting party found the front door unsecured and opened.."

Read the Search Warrant Affidavit in the Gene Hackman Death Inquiry

An affidavit from a Santa Fe County detective described how deputies found the bodies of Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, on Wednesday.

www.nytimes.com

 

[branmuffin]

Sad news. Gene was an amazing performer and will always be a legend.

I agree this sounds like CO. I am curious if they may have accidentally left the car running in the garage. It's easy to do with the push button ignitions. I have one and will have to check to see if it will shut off automatically after a set number of minutes if I were to forget to push the button to turn it off.

jmo

Obviously a Frank Lloyd Wright admirer. This design is so reminiscent of Fallingwater in Pennsylvania.

 

[tomstrees]

With an estate around $80 million a thorough top to bottom forensic analysis of what led up to the deaths will be undertaken; last communications with online or other devices, all security recordings; an exhaustive and rigorous interview process of neighbors, workers and every other entity who may have had contact or knowledge of their behavioral patterns, etc.. I have no doubt with such a high profile celebrity death they will leave no stone unturned.

I watched several Gene Hackman movies in the last few months, the John Grisham ones, "The Firm", "The Chamber", and "Runaway Jury" last year. He comes off as an immoral, red-blooded sob in a lot of these. A couple months ago I did a search on what he'd been up to and saw the weakened Gene Hackman and his wife from the DM. I seem to have a knack for inklings about old celebrities soon before they die. Even if someone knew they were at risk they probably would have been unreachable with their large fences of privacy.

Carbon monoxide poisoning would explain the hard to explain; the nearly simultaneous deaths, but would it do so with a well ventilated high tech house? The weather in Santa Fe in the last month with temperatures ranging from a little below freezing to the 50s and 60s doesn't necessarily seem to have required the need to burn a lot of fuel or whatever their heating source was: Weather in February 2025 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA I'm sure every aspect of potential asphyxiation will be explored. On the "prescription" pills why would someone seemingly intentionally spill pills? With likely prescriptions for the wife, why would that be seen as a venue to commit suicide? Aren't there a lot more effective non-prescription drugs? The story of this being totally accidental doesn't make sense; I'm curious if they had a history of calling 911. Surely the workers would have seen whether their habits had changed in the last month or so, lights turned on or off at night, deliveries, vehicles used, etc. in the most famous celebrity in that neighborhood.

 

[friendlysleuther]

Thank you for the source!

I'm still trying to wrap my head around this.

So, there's 2 people in total, not 3. Maintenance was on scene first. They claim the door was locked. Security is the 911 caller, they claim the door was ajar.

So, am I right to assume that we're talking about two different doors? Or its one door, which was opened at some point between maintenance arriving on scene and security phoning 911?

I agree, the wording can be a bit difficult especially with the redactions.

Let's try to break it down..
The affidavit states, "When Deputy Thomas and Barron arrived, Deputy Thomas indicated he spoke to two individuals¹ (one of which was the reporting party) who found and located the front door of the residence to be opened/ajar. Deputy Thomas identified the reporting party² (RP) to be a male named Roland Lowe Begay. Roland advised he works as maintenance worker³ for a company called(..)"

911 Call
(IMO) You can hear, "Hello, my name is Roland" (Pronounced Roh-Lah-nd) [00:08]
He states, "I'm the caretaker for the subdivision"[00:45] ⁴

Santa Fe, NM (February 27, 2025): An individual arrived to perform maintenance on the residence, became concerned after receiving no answer, and contacted neighborhood security to conduct a welfare check. Security then checked on the residence and observed Hackman and Arakawa on the ground unresponsive through a window and called 911⁵.

1. Two individuals
2. Reporting party [assuming this means who called 911] was Roland Begay.
3. Roland is a maintenance worker for the subdivision.
4. People are getting Roland confused with a caretaker, however, he stated in the 911 call that he is the "caretaker for the subdivision." (Maintenance worker)
5. Ah, here's the part that's getting everyone so confused. It didn't state who called 911 at that time. However, from the other documents, its safe to say that the maintenance worker & security were together-- And once security saw what he did, the maintenance worker called 911.

 

[NuttMegg]

I agree, the wording can be a bit difficult especially with the redactions.

Let's try to break it down..
The affidavit states, "When Deputy Thomas and Barron arrived, Deputy Thomas indicated he spoke to two individuals¹ (one of which was the reporting party) who found and located the front door of the residence to be opened/ajar. Deputy Thomas identified the reporting party² (RP) to be a male named Roland Lowe Begay. Roland advised he works as maintenance worker³ for a company called(..)"

911 Call
(IMO) You can hear, "Hello, my name is Roland" (Pronounced Roh-Lah-nd) [00:08]
He states, "I'm the caretaker for the subdivision"[00:45] ⁴

Santa Fe, NM (February 27, 2025): An individual arrived to perform maintenance on the residence, became concerned after receiving no answer, and contacted neighborhood security to conduct a welfare check. Security then checked on the residence and observed Hackman and Arakawa on the ground unresponsive through a window and called 911⁵.

1. Two individuals
2. Reporting party [assuming this means who called 911] was Roland Begay.
3. Roland is a maintenance worker for the subdivision.
4. People are getting Roland confused with a caretaker, however, he stated in the 911 call that he is the "caretaker for the subdivision." (Maintenance worker)
5. Ah, here's the part that's getting everyone so confused. It didn't state who called 911 at that time. However, from the other documents, its safe to say that the maintenance worker & security were together-- And once security saw what he did, the maintenance worker called 911.

Odd that he thinks he's the caretaker.

 

[LoveyG]

I believe "caretaker" and "maintenance man" can be synonymous.

 

[friendlysleuther]

Thank you for the source!

I'm still trying to wrap my head around this.

So, there's 2 people in total, not 3. Maintenance was on scene first. They claim the door was locked. Security is the 911 caller, they claim the door was ajar.

So, am I right to assume that either we're talking about two different doors, or its one door, which was opened at some point between maintenance arriving on scene and security phoning 911?

TBH, IMO -- Could be two doors, or simply just a trauma response

 

[Fabled Automatic]

With likely prescriptions for the wife, why would that be seen as a venue to commit suicide? Aren't there a lot more effective non-prescription drugs?

I think it's important to keep in mind that just because Betsy's body was found closest to the pills doesn't necessarily mean they were her pills.

It's equally as probable that Gene was suffering from a medical event and Betsy ran to get his medication.

But that's as far as I'm willing to speculate until the full autopsies and toxicology reports are released.

 

[friendlysleuther]

Odd that he thinks he's the caretaker.

Caretaker-- of the subdivision -- maintenance man

 

[Sunshynn]

I believe "caretaker" and "maintenance man" can be synonymous.

https://www.ziprecruiter.com/career/Property-Caretaker/What-Is-How-to-Become

According to Zip Recruiter : A Property Caretaker provides maintenance, gardening, housekeeping, and other services needed for the owner of a property. If it is a large property with multiple tenants or businesses, the Property Caretaker oversees all assets and services required to keep the property operating. They will make repairs, resolve tenant issues, and maintain the building. They act as the representative for the owner when it comes to the day-to-day needs of the estate.

 

[Fabled Automatic]

Deputy Thomas identified the reporting party² (RP) to be a male named Roland Lowe Begay. Roland advised he works as maintenance worker³ for a company called(..)"

911 Call
(IMO) You can hear, "Hello, my name is Roland" (Pronounced Roh-Lah-nd) [00:08]
He states, "I'm the caretaker for the subdivision"[00:45] ⁴

Security then checked on the residence and observed Hackman and Arakawa on the ground unresponsive through a window and called 911⁵.

It didn't state who called 911 at that time. However, from the other documents, its safe to say that the maintenance worker & security were together-- And once security saw what he did, the maintenance worker called 911.

Precisely why I'm confused. That makes it sound like there were two 911 calls by two separate individuals, but as far as we know, there was only one call from one individual.