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Following the announcement of the deaths of Oscar-winner Gene Hackman, his wife Betsy Arakawa, and one of their dogs, police initially stated that there was no indication of foul play. Now, they are saying the deaths are “suspicious,” which, in itself, is kind of suspicious.
“All I can say is that we’re in the middle of a preliminary death investigation, waiting on approval of a search warrant,” Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said Wednesday evening. “I want to assure the community and neighborhood that there’s no immediate danger to anyone.”
Mendoza would later release a statement in which he said, “We can confirm that both Gene Hackman and his wife were found deceased Wednesday afternoon at their residence on Sunset Trail. This is an active investigation – however, at this time we do not believe that foul play was a factor.”
Now, according to a search warrant obtained by TMZ, the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office wrote in their affidavit,
“The death of the two deceased individuals to be suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation because the reporting party found the front door of the residence unsecured and opened, deputies observed a healthy dog running loose on the property, another healthy dog near the deceased female..,
..a deceased dog laying 10-15 feet from the deceased female in a closet of the bathroom, the heater being moved, the pill bottle being opened and pills scattered next to the female, the male decedent being located in a separate room of the residence, and no obvious signs of a gas leak.”
The search warrant affidavit also stated that Gene Hackman’s wife “showed obvious signs of death, body decomposition, bloating in her face and mummification in both hands and feet.”
Hackman was found dead in a mudroom near the kitchen, while his wife’s body was found on the floor of a bathroom. The dead German Shepherd was found approximately 10 to 15 feet from Arakawa. Two other dogs were found alive.
The 911 call by a maintenance worker that found the bodies was also obtained by TMZ. The maintenance workers told police that they hadn’t heard from Hackman or his wife for about two weeks.