Officials investigating the tragic deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, have revealed new evidence that may shift the timeline of events.
The Academy Award winner, 95, and his wife, 65, were both found dead in their Santa Fe, New Mexico, home on February 26, along with one of their pet dogs after maintenance workers raised the alarm.
Initially, authorities determined that Betsy passed away first, with Hackman following days later. However, fresh evidence from a clinician suggests she may have been alive a day later than originally believed.
To make sense of the evolving details, here’s a full timeline of everything we know about the deaths of the couple - who had just celebrated their 33rd wedding anniversary two months earlier - and their pet dog.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza confirmed that Betsy collected Zinna from Gruda Veterinary Hospital following a medical procedure, per E! News.
This explains why Zinna was later found locked in a crate while the other two dogs were roaming free inside the home.
February 10 – Betsy Cancels a Doctor’s AppointmentAccording to BBC News, Dr. Josiah Child, who runs Cloudberry Health in Santa Fe, revealed that Betsy called to cancel a scheduled appointment.
February 11 - Betsy Initially Believed to Have DiedDuring a press conference on March 7, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Heather Jarrell stated: “It is reasonable to conclude that Ms. Hackman passed away first, with February 11 being the last time that she was known to be alive," cited by The New York Post.
Dr. Jarrell confirmed that Betsy’s cause of death was hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare and often fatal disease transmitted through infected rodent droppings. It begins with flu-like symptoms and can rapidly progress to severe lung and heart complications.
“The manner of death is natural,” she added.
February 12 - Betsy Reportedly Makes a Phone CallNew evidence has cast doubt on the assumption that Betsy died on February 11 as Dr. Child claims that she spoke to a member of his clinic on February 12, seeking to arrange an appointment for her husband.
“Mrs. Hackman didn’t die on February 11 because she called my clinic on February 12,” he told the Daily Mail.
"She'd called me a couple of weeks before her death to ask about getting an echocardiogram [heart scan] for her husband. She was not a patient of mine, but one of my patients recommended Cloudberry to her," he explained.
Betsy reportedly made an appointment for herself for February 12, but she never showed up. Dr. Child clarified that the appointment was "unrelated to anything respiratory".
Further supporting this timeline, a statement from the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office to Today confirmed that three calls were made from Betsy’s phone to Cloudberry Health on the morning of February 12.
Officials revealed: “One incoming call was made to Mrs. Hackman from the same medical center that afternoon. That appeared as a missed call on Mrs. Hackman’s cell phone.”
This crucial detail was uncovered after investigators analyzed the phone’s data.
February 17 – Activity Detected From Hackman’s PacemakerWhen asked whether Hackman was aware of his wife’s death, Dr. Jarrell stated it was "difficult to answer," per ABC News.
He "was in an advanced state of Alzheimer's, and it's quite possible that he was not aware that she was deceased," Jarrell told reporters,
Despite the uncertainty, data from Hackman’s pacemaker showed cardiac activity on February 17.
Dr. Jarrell provided further insight into the actor’s death, stating: "Mr. Hackman’s initial pacemaker data revealed cardiac activity on February 17, with subsequent pacemaker interrogation demonstrating an abnormal rhythm of atrial fibrillation on February 18, which was the last record of heart activity."
Based on this information, medical examiners determined that Hackman likely passed away on February 18.
His cause of death was ruled as hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer’s disease listed as a significant contributing factor.
February 26 – Betsy and Hackman’s Bodies Are DiscoveredThe couple’s bodies were found inside their $3.8 million Santa Fe home by two maintenance workers. The front door was unlocked, and two of their three dogs were still alive inside the residence.
Investigators noted several key details from the scene: A bottle of opened prescription pills was scattered on the bathroom countertop near Betsy’s body and Hackman’s body was discovered on the floor of the mudroom, near a walking stick and a pair of sunglasses, per The Guardian.