Latest news with #FeCountySheriff'sOffice
NBC News
04-03-2025
- NBC News
'No significant findings' of carbon monoxide or gas leak in Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa's home
The deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife remain a mystery as authorities confirm there "were no significant findings" of carbon monoxide and gas leaks at their New Mexico home. The New Mexico Gas Co. conducted an investigation after the Oscar-winning actor, his wife, Betsy Arakawa, and their dog were discovered dead last week. Authorities found Hackman, 95, in a mudroom near the kitchen of his Santa Fe home, according to a search warrant. Arakawa, 65, was on the floor of a bathroom, and a German Shepherd was discovered about 10 feet from her in a closet in the bathroom. Two other dogs were found alive on the property. On Tuesday, the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office released a brief update on the investigation, saying it had received the gas company's findings. "Those results are not believed to be a factor in the deaths of Gene Hackman, Betsy Arakawa or their dog though the information was relayed to the Office of the Medical Investigator for consideration," the sheriff's office said. The sheriff's office added that the gas company issued five red tags: one for a minuscule, non-lethal leak at one of the stove burners and four for code enforcement violations not involving leaks or carbon monoxide. The violations involved a water heater and gas log lighters installed in three fireplaces, the sheriff's office said. The gas company did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. Authorities have said that the deaths are "suspicious," but Santa Fe Sheriff Adan Mendoza has said he's "confident there's no foul play" involved. The sheriff's office previously said that the medical examiner's preliminary findings found no signs of external trauma. Hackman and his wife may have been dead for several days or possibly weeks before they were found, Mendoza said. The search warrant stated that both bodies showed "obvious signs of death." When Arakawa was found, there was a space heater near her head and a prescription bottle with pills scattered across the counter, the warrant said. The sheriff said the information about the pills had been passed onto the medical investigator to help determine a cause of death.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Yahoo
Sheriff's office makes error about Gene Hackman's dog in initial death report
SANTA FE, N.M. — News of the deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa pinged into Sherry Gaber's cell phone as text messages from friends. 'Do you know about this?' one friend asked, with a link to an article about the discoveries. Gaber's heart dropped. The news of Hackman and Arakawa – close friends and clients – was bad enough. But what really sank her soul was the fact that their German shepherd, Bear, had died along with them. Just five months earlier, Gaber, an animal chiropractor, had run her hands along Bear's fur, adjusting the animal's atlas vertebrae, the topmost vertebrae in the cervical spine. She'd cooed the German shepherd and laughed with Arakawa. Bear seemed vibrant and happy, although still slightly favoring a right hip from a surgery a few months earlier. Now, she believed he was dead, found either in a closet or crate or bathroom floor, depending on conflicting news and official reports. The details didn't compute. 'I can't handle that image,' Gaber said in an interview with USA TODAY. 'That's why this whole thing is so distressing.' 'It just doesn't add up,' Gaber said. That's because it didn't. Bear wasn't dead at all. As Gaber read the news reports on her phone, the dog was alive and well, resting at a pet daycare facility in Santa Fe, along with the couple's other dog, Nikita, a 7-year-old Akita-shepherd mix. USA TODAY learned the dog who perished in the Hackman home was actually Zinna, a 12-year-old reddish Australian Kelpie mixed-breed who had once trained in agility skills to compete at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Her body was found in a closed crate in the home, according to Joey Padilla, who transported the surviving dogs to his facility, Santa Fe Tails. Police continue to look into the details and causes behind the deaths of Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 64. They were discovered in separate rooms in their Santa Fe estate with signs of advanced decomposition, probably from being dead for over a week. As investigators try to establish a cause of death for the movie actor and his wife, their misidentification of Zinna could potentially raise doubts about other parts of their investigation. In their affidavit for a search warrant, sheriff's investigators said deputies 'continued to search the residence where they then observed/found a deceased brown in color German-Shepard [sic] canine.' Details of the affidavit were reported by the media, leading friends to believe Bear had died. USA TODAY visited the Santa Fe Animal Shelter, the county agency responsible for housing animals when they are found with deceased owners. Officials there referred all questions to the sheriff's office. It's unclear how the dog was misidentified in the report. USA TODAY contacted Denise Womack-Avila, a spokeswoman for the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office, who's leading the investigation. She said she hadn't heard of the mistaken dog identity. She said investigators may have just misidentified the breed. 'Our deputies do not deal with canines on a daily basis and I cannot currently speak to the condition or state of the dog's body upon discovery,' Womack-Avila said in a text message response. Informed by USA TODAY that it was Zinna – not Bear – who was found dead in the home, Gaber gasped. 'My body's just shaking right now,' she said. 'I'm grateful [it's not Bear]. It's still a tragic story.' Tough guy, everyman: Gene Hackman pursued anonymity and a private artist life in Santa Fe Gaber met Hackman and Arakawa more than 18 years ago, when the couple learned of Gaber's ability to improve animals' health through chiropractic adjustments. Gaber focuses her treatment on the upper cervical spine to allow the body to better communicate with the brain, she said. Over the years, she has treated dogs, cats, bald eagles, owls, pet skunks, a porcupine ('I'll never do that again'), rabbits, goats and a mountain lion. In 2003, Gaber helped a 1,400-pound buffalo walk straight again, a story captured in the 2007 book, 'A Buffalo in the House,' by R.D. Rosen. Arakawa heard the story at a Santa Fe book event – and immediately reached out to Gaber. That sparked an 18-year relationship where Arakawa would bring her dogs into Gaber's Santa Fe practice every few weeks to get adjusted. The two would also meet for dinner or go shopping around town. When Arakawa rescued Zinna from a shelter, she contracted a trainer and began putting her through agility training – weaving through poles, tire jumps, ducking through tunnels – with the goal of entering her into Westminster, Gaber said. Gaber treated Zinna before and after training sessions and competitions, she said. As she got older, Zinna – short for zinfandel – stopped training. But Arakawa continued bringing the dogs in for sessions. 'They wanted to do all the right things for their animals because they loved them so deeply,' Gaber said. The last time she saw Arakawa was in October, when she brought in Bear for an adjustment. The German shepherd, who Arakawa rescued from the side of Interstate 25, appeared to enjoy his session, Gaber said. She and Arakawa joked and promised to meet up again soon. Then, last week, the messages came in: Her two close friends were dead, as was Zinna. 'I went into shock,' Gaber said. 'I laid down underneath the stars and cried for an hour.' A star's tragic end: Gene Hackman's refuge – and mysterious death – at his Santa Fe home with wife Betsy Arakawa Padilla, who took care of and trained the couple's dogs over the years, got the call Wednesday afternoon. It was the handyman who had first discovered the bodies. The worker, who had done jobs for Hackman in the past, asked Padilla if he could come retrieve the surviving dogs. Padilla drove to the scene. Bear was found 10 to 12 feet away from Arakawa, while Nikita was running around in the sprawling backyard, skittish of all the commotion, Padilla said. Animal control had already collared Bear. Padilla tried to coax Nikita closer by opening and closing the door to Arakawa's car, but she stayed clear, he said. One of Padilla's employees tried drawing her close with treats, but also couldn't get near enough. Finally, the animal control staffers set up a door trap for her overnight in the yard, which got her. Padilla returned on Thursday to retrieve the dogs. While he was there, Sheriff Adan Mendoza called one of Hackman's daughters and put her on speakerphone, as he and Padilla inquired about what to do with the dogs. Overcome by grief, no one came up with an answer, he said. 'It was overwhelming for everybody,' Padilla recalled. 'There was a lot to intake. I finally said, 'Listen, I'm just here to help.'' He drove the dogs to his pet daycare facility, where he'll take care of them until lawyers sort out the couple's will and determine if there's any mention of what to do with the dogs. They won't be taken to a shelter, Padilla said. 'If only people knew how meticulous and amazing [Hackman and Arakawa] were with the dogs,' said Padilla, who took care of and trained the couple's dogs over the years. 'It breaks my heart.' Meanwhile, a local company donated food to feed the dogs and a veterinarian hospital offered to cremate Zinna, but authorities told them they were still investigating and needed the dog's body, Padilla said. He said he wouldn't speculate as to how Zinna may have died in the crate. But he said he was sure Hackman and Arakawa did everything they could to help those dogs – all the way to the end. 'I think this is a tragic accident,' he said. 'There's no way that Betsy would have left that dog in a crate for any other reason.' Follow Jervis on X: @MrRJervis. Carbon monoxide and the dogs: Gene Hackman, wife's deaths remain a mystery This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sheriff's office makes error about Gene Hackman's dog in death report
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Yahoo
Sheriff's office makes error about Gene Hackman's dog in initial death report
SANTA FE, N.M. — News of the deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa pinged into Sherry Gaber's cell phone as text messages from friends. 'Do you know about this?' one friend asked, with a link to an article about the discoveries. Gaber's heart dropped. The news of Hackman and Arakawa – close friends and clients – was bad enough. But what really sank her soul was the fact that their German shepherd, Bear, had died along with them. Just five months earlier, Gaber, an animal chiropractor, had run her hands along Bear's fur, adjusting the animal's atlas vertebrae, the topmost vertebrae in the cervical spine. She'd cooed the German shepherd and laughed with Arakawa. Bear seemed vibrant and happy, although still slightly favoring a right hip from a surgery a few months earlier. Now, she believed he was dead, found either in a closet or crate or bathroom floor, depending on conflicting news and official reports. The details didn't compute. 'I can't handle that image,' Gaber said in an interview with USA TODAY. 'That's why this whole thing is so distressing.' 'It just doesn't add up,' Gaber said. That's because it didn't. Bear wasn't dead at all. As Gaber read the news reports on her phone, the dog was alive and well, resting at a pet daycare facility in Santa Fe, along with the couple's other dog, Nikita, a 7-year-old Akita-shepherd mix. USA TODAY learned the dog who perished in the Hackman home was actually Zinna, a 12-year-old reddish Australian Kelpie mixed-breed who had once trained in agility skills to compete at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Her body was found in a closed crate in the home, according to Joey Padilla, who transported the surviving dogs to his facility, Santa Fe Tails. Police continue to look into the details and causes behind the deaths of Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 64. They were discovered in separate rooms in their Santa Fe estate with signs of advanced decomposition, probably from being dead for over a week. As investigators try to establish a cause of death for the movie actor and his wife, their misidentification of Zinna could potentially raise doubts about other parts of their investigation. In their affidavit for a search warrant, sheriff's investigators said deputies 'continued to search the residence where they then observed/found a deceased brown in color German-Shepard [sic] canine.' Details of the affidavit were reported by the media, leading friends to believe Bear had died. USA TODAY visited the Santa Fe Animal Shelter, the county agency responsible for housing animals when they are found with deceased owners. Officials there referred all questions to the sheriff's office. It's unclear how the dog was misidentified in the report. USA TODAY contacted Denise Womack-Avila, a spokeswoman for the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office, who's leading the investigation. She said she hadn't heard of the mistaken dog identity. She said investigators may have just misidentified the breed. 'Our deputies do not deal with canines on a daily basis and I cannot currently speak to the condition or state of the dog's body upon discovery,' Womack-Avila said in a text message response. Informed by USA TODAY that it was Zinna – not Bear – who was found dead in the home, Gaber gasped. 'My body's just shaking right now,' she said. 'I'm grateful [it's not Bear]. It's still a tragic story.' Tough guy, everyman: Gene Hackman pursued anonymity and a private artist life in Santa Fe Gaber met Hackman and Arakawa more than 18 years ago, when the couple learned of Gaber's ability to improve animals' health through chiropractic adjustments. Gaber focuses her treatment on the upper cervical spine to allow the body to better communicate with the brain, she said. Over the years, she has treated dogs, cats, bald eagles, owls, pet skunks, a porcupine ('I'll never do that again'), rabbits, goats and a mountain lion. In 2003, Gaber helped a 1,400-pound buffalo walk straight again, a story captured in the 2007 book, 'A Buffalo in the House,' by R.D. Rosen. Arakawa heard the story at a Santa Fe book event – and immediately reached out to Gaber. That sparked an 18-year relationship where Arakawa would bring her dogs into Gaber's Santa Fe practice every few weeks to get adjusted. The two would also meet for dinner or go shopping around town. When Arakawa rescued Zinna from a shelter, she contracted a trainer and began putting her through agility training – weaving through poles, tire jumps, ducking through tunnels – with the goal of entering her into Westminster, Gaber said. Gaber treated Zinna before and after training sessions and competitions, she said. As she got older, Zinna – short for zinfandel – stopped training. But Arakawa continued bringing the dogs in for sessions. 'They wanted to do all the right things for their animals because they loved them so deeply,' Gaber said. The last time she saw Arakawa was in October, when she brought in Bear for an adjustment. The German shepherd, who Arakawa rescued from the side of Interstate 25, appeared to enjoy his session, Gaber said. She and Arakawa joked and promised to meet up again soon. Then, last week, the messages came in: Her two close friends were dead, as was Zinna. 'I went into shock,' Gaber said. 'I laid down underneath the stars and cried for an hour.' A star's tragic end: Gene Hackman's refuge – and mysterious death – at his Santa Fe home with wife Betsy Arakawa Padilla, who took care of and trained the couple's dogs over the years, got the call Wednesday afternoon. It was the handyman who had first discovered the bodies. The worker, who had done jobs for Hackman in the past, asked Padilla if he could come retrieve the surviving dogs. Padilla drove to the scene. Bear was found 10 to 12 feet away from Arakawa, while Nikita was running around in the sprawling backyard, skittish of all the commotion, Padilla said. Animal control had already collared Bear. Padilla tried to coax Nikita closer by opening and closing the door to Arakawa's car, but she stayed clear, he said. One of Padilla's employees tried drawing her close with treats, but also couldn't get near enough. Finally, the animal control staffers set up a door trap for her overnight in the yard, which got her. Padilla returned on Thursday to retrieve the dogs. While he was there, Sheriff Adan Mendoza called one of Hackman's daughters and put her on speakerphone, as he and Padilla inquired about what to do with the dogs. Overcome by grief, no one came up with an answer, he said. 'It was overwhelming for everybody,' Padilla recalled. 'There was a lot to intake. I finally said, 'Listen, I'm just here to help.'' He drove the dogs to his pet daycare facility, where he'll take care of them until lawyers sort out the couple's will and determine if there's any mention of what to do with the dogs. They won't be taken to a shelter, Padilla said. 'If only people knew how meticulous and amazing [Hackman and Arakawa] were with the dogs,' said Padilla, who took care of and trained the couple's dogs over the years. 'It breaks my heart.' Meanwhile, a local company donated food to feed the dogs and a veterinarian hospital offered to cremate Zinna, but authorities told them they were still investigating and needed the dog's body, Padilla said. He said he wouldn't speculate as to how Zinna may have died in the crate. But he said he was sure Hackman and Arakawa did everything they could to help those dogs – all the way to the end. 'I think this is a tragic accident,' he said. 'There's no way that Betsy would have left that dog in a crate for any other reason.' Follow Jervis on X: @MrRJervis. Carbon monoxide and the dogs: Gene Hackman, wife's deaths remain a mystery This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sheriff's office makes error about Gene Hackman's dog in death report
USA Today
02-03-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Gene Hackman death: Sheriff says timeline may be a 'challenge' as investigation continues
Gene Hackman death: Sheriff says timeline may be a 'challenge' as investigation continues Show Caption Hide Caption Pacemaker data suggests Gene Hackman may have died on Feb. 17 New Mexico authorities say Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman's last day of life was likely Feb. 17 after reviewing Hackman's pacemaker data. The death of actor Gene Hackman remains under investigation after he was found Wednesday at his home in New Mexico. The actor, his wife, pianist Betsy Arakawa, along with a dog, were found dead by neighborhood security officials. Authorities found the couple around 1:45 p.m. Wednesday, according to a statement from the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office. Hackman had largely retreated from the spotlight, but had "deeply woven" himself into his New Mexico community, Jennifer LaBar-Tapia, Executive Director of the Santa Fe Film Office, said at a Friday press conference. "Gene was not only a legendary actor whose talent shaped generations of storytelling, but he and Betsy were also longtime residents of our community," LaBar-Tapia said. Here's what we know about the death of Gene Hackman. Gene Hackman's 'last event' recorded more than week before body found Hackman's pacemaker revealed that "his last event was recorded on Feb. 17, 2025," Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said during a press conference. Mendoza said it was "a very good assumption" to conclude that was Hackman's "last day of life," more than a week before he was found. Mendoza told the "Today" show Friday that he's "pretty confident that there's no foul play" involved, though police are "not ruling that out." Tests negative for carbon monoxide Hackman and Arakawa tested negative for carbon monoxide, Mendoza said during the press conference. Authorities found the actor in a mudroom near his cane, appearing to have fallen, while his wife Arakawa was found in an open bathroom near a space heater, according to a search warrant. A deputy observed "body decomposition, bloating in her face" and mummification in Arakawa's hands and feet, according to the warrant. One of the couple's German shepherds was found dead less than 15 feet from Arakawa in a closet, while their other two dogs were found alive in the bathroom near Arakawa and outside. Mendoza told "Today" that there was no "indication that anybody was moving about the house or doing anything different, so it's very hard to determine" if the couple died at different times or together. Authorities called the deaths "suspicious." Sheriff: Creating timeline on Hackman death 'challenge' Mendoza told "Today" that it would be a "challenge" crafting a timeline of their deaths, as Hackman and Arakawa were "private individuals and a private family." "One of the things is in an investigation, we try to piece a timeline together," Mendoza said they usually work from when "the event" happens and go forward but said that investigators plan to also work "backwards" on the Hackman case. Two cell phones were among the items found in a search of the Hackman home. Mendoza said that investigators would attempt to access the phones to gain insight into the last days of the couple. "We'll be analyzing cell phone data, phone calls, text messages, events, photos in the cell phone to try to piece a timeline together," Mendoza said Friday. Contributing: Anika Reed
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
What we know about the deaths of Gene Hackman, his wife, his dog
Gene Hackman, his wife and one of their dogs were found dead in their New Mexico home, and investigators believe they had been dead for some time. A maintenance worker reported the deaths of Hackman and 65-year-old Betsy Arakawa on Wednesday, according to a Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office search warrant affidavit. Investigators are still working to determine what caused the deaths, though they said they don't suspect foul play. Hackman, 95, won two Oscars during a storied career in which he played an array of heroes and villains in films including 'The French Connection,' 'Hoosiers' and 'Superman' from the 1960s until his retirement in the early 2000s. According to the search warrant affidavit, a maintenance worker called 911 after spotting the bodies at the couple's Santa Fe home. He reported the home's front door was open when he arrived to do routine work, a detective wrote. In a recording of the 911 call, though, the worker said he could see Arakawa lying on the floor through a window but was unable to get inside. Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza told NBC's 'Today' show that investigators were trying to sort out conflicting stories about the doors. He said several doors were unlocked and a rear door was open, which allowed two dogs that survived to go in and out. He also said he thinks the front door was closed but unlocked. Hackman's body was found in the home's entryway and Arakawa's was found next to a space heater in a bathroom. A dead German shepherd was found in a kennel near Arakawa, Mendoza said Thursday. The two living dogs were found on the property. No foul play was suspected, authorities said, though investigators wrote in the warrant that they thought the deaths were 'suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation.' The New Mexico Gas Co. tested gas lines at the home but didn't find any signs of problems at the time, according to the warrant. An investigator noted people may not show signs of poisoning if they are exposed to gas leaks or carbon monoxide, but that there weren't signs of a leak at Hackman and Arakawa's home. Autopsy results were still pending Friday. Hackman appeared in a broad range of movie roles dating back to 1961, when he debuted in 'Mad Dog Coll.' Through the next four decades, his roles including arch nemesis Lex Luthor in the 'Superman' movies and the iconic coach in 'Hoosiers' helped put Hackman on a Hollywood pedestal. He 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. He also won praise for his role as a coach finding redemption in the sentimental favorite 'Hoosiers.' Hackman demurred from the pomp of celebrity and was considered an actor's actor who focused on the job and not his image, dodging social circuit appearances beyond some award ceremonies. As a boy, films offered Hackman an escape from a tumultuous home life with an abusive father who left the family when Hackman was 13. Sympathy and admiration for Hackman poured in from Hollywood legends including director Francis Ford Coppola, actor-director Clint Eastwood and actor Bill Murray. Murray worked with Hackman on director Wes Anderson's 2001 film 'The Royal Tenenbaums.' Hackman gave young directors such as Anderson a hard time but brought skill to the set, Murray said. 'I watched him once do, like, 25 takes where he did it perfectly with an actor who kept blowing it every single time,' Murray told The Associated Press. 'He was a great one. He was a great actor.' Actor Cary Elwes called Hackman a 'force of nature.' 'Growing up on his movies was an absolute thrill for me,' Elwes said on Instagram. 'To observe his remarkable facility and humanity in every role was something to behold.' Everything you ever wanted to learn about acting can be found in any of Hackman's performances, actor Steve Toussaint posted on Instagram. ''The French Connection.' 'Crimson Tide,' 'The Conversation.' Gosh! I could go on,' Toussaint wrote. Arakawa was born in Hawaii in December 1959 and grew up in the state. She studied piano while growing up in Honolulu and, as an 11-year-old sixth grader, performed in youth concerts in front of thousands of first and second-graders at the Honolulu International Center Concert Hall, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported in 1971. Arakawa attended the University of Southern California from 1981 through 1983, the university said in an email. While in Los Angeles, she was a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Aztecs, a professional soccer team in the North American Soccer League, and worked as a production assistant on the television game show 'Card Sharks,' the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported in 1981. The classically trained pianist met Hackman while working part-time at a California gym in the mid-1980s. They soon moved in together and relocated to Santa Fe by the end of the decade. Arakawa was vice president of Pandora's, a home decor and furnishing store in Santa Fe, according to New Mexico business records. Their Pueblo revival home, a style typical in the area, sits on a hill in a gated with views of the Rocky Mountains far from Hollywood. The area is known as a preferred location among artists and a retreat for celebrities. The home was featured in a 1990 article by Architectural Digest. The four-bedroom, 8,700-square-foot (808-square-meter) structure on 6 acres (2.4 hectares) had an estimated market value of a little over $4 million, according to Santa Fe County property tax records. Hackman often was seen around the historic state capital. His hobbies included painting, deep-sea diving and, later in life, writing novels. The couple enjoyed watching DVDs that Arakawa would rent, Hackman told the film magazine Empire in a 2009 interview. In his later years, Hackman was seen far less in public. Papers reported sightings of Hackman in mundane scenarios, such as when The New York Post detailed the former actor pumping gas and getting a chicken sandwich at Wendy's in 2023. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
