
Gene Hackman's dogs helped authorities locate his body
Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa's dogs helped locate the actor's body when authorities arrived at the couple's home on Feb. 26.
Santa Fe Fire Chief Brian Moya explained the department immediately located Betsy in a bathroom after entering the front door of the New Mexico home. However, officials searched for nearly 30 minutes with no sign of Hackman.
While paramedics and officers from the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Department searched the home, one of the couple's dogs kept running up to them. Authorities originally thought the dog wanted to play, but later realized the pup was trying to help. One of Hackman and Betsy's dogs died, but two remained alive at the home and were able to roam through an open back door.
"They realized [the dog] was trying to say, 'Hey, come over here! Come over here!'" Moya told USA Today.
Moya previously told Fox News Digital that authorities believed Hackman and Betsy died in a similar timeframe.
"Just because both bodies were in similar ways where we, as experts, sad to say that we know a lot about how people die and how long people are dead for – both bodies are in a similar manner that it could be a similar timeframe," Moya said.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff's Department later confirmed during a press conference that Betsy likely died on Feb. 11. Hackman most likely died one week later.
Betsy died from Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, New Mexico officials told reporters. Meanwhile, Hackman died from hypertensive atherosclerosis cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer's disease as a significant contributing factor. It's plausible that the actor was home alone with Betsy's deceased body before he passed.
Feb. 18 was the last day activity was recorded on Hackman's pacemaker. The device noted "abnormal rhythm of atrial fibrillation."
WATCH: NEW MEXICO OFFICIALS CONFIRMED GENE HACKMAN AND HIS WIFE BETSY'S CAUSE OF DEATHS
Hackman's autopsy showed "severe heart disease, including multiple surgical procedures involving the heart, evidence of prior heart attacks, and severe changes of the kidneys due to chronic high blood pressure."
"Examination of the brain showed advanced Alzheimer's disease as well as blood vessel changes in the brain secondary to chronic high blood pressure," according to Chief Medical Investigator Dr. Heather Jarrell.
Authorities determined Betsy died on or around Feb. 11 through her activity and communication. The former classical pianist had an email conversation on the morning of Feb. 11 before heading out to a local grocery store, a pharmacy and a pet store. She returned to the couple's gated community around 5:15 p.m., garage clicker data showed.
"Based on the circumstances, it is reasonable to conclude that [Betsy] passed away first, with Feb. 11 being the last time that she was known to be alive," Jarrell said.
Authorities responded to a 911 call on Feb. 26 and discovered Hackman and Betsy deceased inside.
The investigation remains ongoing until cellphone data can be reviewed and a necropsy is performed on their dog, Zinna.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


New York Post
8 minutes ago
- New York Post
Kohberger lawyer asks to postpone trial amid intense media coverage, new crime projects
Bryan Kohberger's lead defense attorney Anne Taylor may be avoiding news cameras, but she has shown she is able to use widespread attention to the case to her advantage in her courtroom maneuvering. Even before Magistrate Judge Megan Marshall issued the first gag order in the case, Taylor declined to comment when contacted by Fox News Digital. Advertisement Since then, she has declined to respond to additional requests for comment. 'It is unusual for defense counsel to avoid trying to grab the spotlight and possibly influence public opinion via press conferences, but there's more than one way to skin a cat,' said Royal Oakes, a Los Angeles-based litigator and media analyst. In Kohberger's case, convincing evidence has already been made public — including the allegation that police found his DNA on a Ka-Bar knife sheath under 21-year-old Madison Mogen, one of the four victims, and surveillance video of a suspected vehicle coming and going at the crime scene. 'You've got the car circling the victim's house,' Oakes told Fox News Digital. 'You've got the DNA. You've got the cell phone records. The strategy instead is to go kind of a technical route and question the science of the DNA and also to argue autism by the criminal defendant. That's a key factor, and that's not the kind of thing you necessarily go public with.' Advertisement 7 Bryan Kohberger, (center) who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022. AP Taylor used unflattering depictions of her client to have news cameras thrown out of the courtroom and to secure a change of venue, which moved Kohberger's upcoming trial out of Latah County, where the students were killed, to Boise. Defense filings have highlighted widespread news coverage, as well as social media discussions involving thousands of web sleuths and true crime followers. More recently, Taylor is arguing that two major media projects — a 'Dateline' episode and a forthcoming book from bestselling crime author James Patterson and crime reporter Vicky Ward — should justify another postponement of her client's trial in the deaths of four University of Idaho students. Advertisement In particular, she claims the May 9 'Dateline' episode contains damning material that could put Kohberger's right to a fair trial at risk. 7 Bryan Kohberger, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022, appears at a hearing in Latah County District Court, on Jan. 5, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho. AP 'The program includes details and materials, including video footage, cellphone records, and photographs of documents, that are not publicly available through official channels,' she wrote in a motion to continue filed on May 20. 'The show repeatedly emphasizes the non-public nature of this information, stating it was obtained from unnamed sources who are close to the investigation, and that the materials were obtained exclusively by 'Dateline.'' Some of it will be inadmissible at trial, she added. Advertisement Furthermore, she asserted that 'the leaked materials appear carefully curated to promote a narrative of guilt.' 7 Anne Taylor, an attorney representing Bryan Kohberger. AP 'The defense strategy of delay and moving the trial is working beautifully,' Oakes said. 'She was able to change the venue. She gets some postponements, and now she wants further postponement.' If she gets it, there are two key factors that would benefit the defense, he added. 'No. 1, give her time to come up with something to overcome this amazingly strong physical evidence against him, and also maybe diminish the public anger,' he said. 'As the months and the years go by, people will forget how horrific the crime was, and maybe give her a better chance to get a good result at trial.' 7 Personal items of four University of Idaho students who were stabbed to death in an off-campus house are removed on Wednesday, December 7, 2022. James Keivom 'They are trying to keep it out of the court of public opinion,' said David Gelman, a Philadelphia-area defense attorney and former prosecutor who is following the case. 'How do you do that? Stay away from media.' However, that is tough in a case where many updates receive international attention. Advertisement 7 Blood oozes out of the side of an off-campus home where four University of Idaho students were murdered. James Keivom 7 Investigator at the scene of the University of Idaho quadruple homicide. James Keivom Kohberger is accused of killing Mogen, two roommates and another friend in a 4 a.m. home-invasion stabbing spree. There is no publicly known motive, but a concerning detail is that he was studying for a Ph.D. in criminology at the time of the murders. 7 Kohberger is accused of killing four University of Idaho students. Advertisement The other victims were Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20. Jack Lu, a retired Massachusetts judge and an adjunct faculty member at the University of Massachusetts Lowell School of Criminology and Justice studies, said Taylor could consider trying to 'humanize' her client — but anything else could be dangerous for the defense. 'That case sends a chill down the spine of every professor in a school of criminology in the United States,' he told Fox News Digital.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Diddy told Cassie's friend 'I'm the devil and I could kill you,' she testifies
Among the disturbing allegations emerging from Sean "Diddy" Combs' ongoing criminal trial is a statement the hip-hop mogul supposedly said to one of Cassie Ventura Fine's friends years ago. Bryana "Bana" Bongolan testified June 4 that she was doing an impromptu beach photoshoot with Ventura Fine and a photographer friend one day when Combs went up to her and issued a threat. "He came really close to my face and said, 'I'm the devil and I could kill you,'" she told the court. She admitted she was likely high on cocaine at the time. Regardless, she "was terrified" and unsure why Combs said that to her. Bongolan's remarks came on the 20th day of Combs' trial, which kicked off with jury selection on May 5. During her time on the stand, which will continue into a second day of cross-examination, Bongolan also detailed a 2016 incident in which Combs allegedly held her up on Ventura Fine's 17th-floor balcony and balanced her on the railing, making her think that she might fall. The event was first described in Ventura Fine's 2023 lawsuit, and Bongolan filed her own suit seeking $10 million in damages from Combs a year later. Bongolan told the court she'd first met Ventura Fine in the mid-2010s while working at a streetwear company called Diamond Supply Company, where the latter had been tapped to design a clothing line. She didn't meet Combs until about a year into their friendship, Bongolan said, but she knew she "wasn't fond of what I was seeing" in his relationship with Ventura Fine. She didn't really want to meet him, she testified. Bongolan also said that during a FaceTime before "The Perfect Match" premiere, she witnessed the black eye Ventura Fine allegedly suffered from Combs assaulting her in the hallway of the InterContinental Hotel in May 2016. "I was pretty quiet. I remember saying, 'I'm sorry.' She was also pretty quiet," Bongolan testified. Federal prosecutors claim Combs led a "criminal enterprise" that operated on sex trafficking, kidnapping, drug offenses and forced labor, among other crimes. Combs leveraged his wealth and celebrity status to "fulfill his sexual desires" in a "recurrent and widely known" pattern of abuse, investigators allege. He faces two counts of sex trafficking, two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution and one count of racketeering. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Contributing: Patrick Ryan and Gina Barton, USA TODAY This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cassie's friend testifies Diddy said 'I'm the devil', 'could kill you'


USA Today
3 hours ago
- USA Today
Police detain CNN correspondent on camera during LA protests
Police detain CNN correspondent on camera during LA protests Show Caption Hide Caption The Insurrection Act explained: What it is and how presidents use it The Insurrection Act allows presidents to deploy the military within the country during unrest. Here's what the law says and how it's been used. Police briefly detained CNN correspondent Jason Carroll while on air during the network's coverage of the Los Angeles protests. CNN was covering the protests live when in-studio anchors briefly lost contact with Carroll, who could be seen being led away from the protests by Los Angeles Police Department officers with his hands behind his back. Carroll returned to the mic, informing the anchors: "I am being detained." An officer then can be heard telling Carroll: "We're letting you go. You can't come back. If you come back, you will be arrested." Carroll then thanked the officers after being left behind the police perimeter. "I was called over, and the officer told me to put my hands behind my back. I said, 'Am I being arrested?' and he said, 'You are being detained,'" Carroll explained. He later added that he clarified who he was and that he was with CNN, to no avail. "They did not put me in zip ties, but they did grab both my hands as I was escorted over to the side. They said you are being detained while we lead you out of this area. You are not allowed to be in this area." In a statement, a CNN spokesperson said the situation was handled quickly. "A CNN reporting team was briefly detained in Los Angeles while capturing the events that were unfolding as police attempted to clear an area during the ongoing protests and police and military response in the city," the statement read. "We are pleased the situation resolved quickly once the reporting team presented law enforcement with their CNN credentials. CNN will continue to report out the news unfolding in Los Angeles." USA TODAY has reached out to the LAPD for comment. Carroll said these situations come with the territory of covering protests. "You take a lot of risks as press. This is low on that scale of risks, but it is something that I wasn't expecting, simply because we've been out here all day," he continued. "I've covered any number of protests, and normally the officers realize that the press is there doing a job."