[Skip to the end for more details released after the post first went up.]
I woke up this morning to the disheartening news that one of my all-time favorite screen actors, Gene Hackman, had died. He was 95 and had been retired for twenty years, so the news was not exactly shocking. However, the details of what police found in Hackman’s Santa Fe, N.M., home indicate a larger tragedy: along with the actor, police found he wife, Betsy Arakawa and a German Shepherd.
Since the police have stated that there were no signs of “foul play,” meaning that the group did not appear to have been murdered, and that there was no immediate evidence of a murder-suicide scenario, as when actor Gig Young was found dead after murdering his young wife, the scene still strongly hints of a suicide pact. Elderly couples do this here and there; some even think that it is romantic. (James Stewart’s last movie, made-for-TV, was co-starring with Bette Davis as an elderly couple who decide to kill themselves in the interests of avoiding pain, misery and expense.) Mrs. Hackman, Betsy Arakawa, was only 64, but who knows? Maybe she had just been diagnosed with dementia or some other dread disease. Maybe the duel suicides were her idea.
But why kill the dog?
The Hackmans were dog lovers. Animal Rescue Inc, the shelter from which the couple had adopted their dog, shared its birthday message to Gene just a month ago in a Facebook post: “Happy 94th birthday to our most famous adopter Gene Hackman !! While filming The Replacements in Baltimore in 1999, two stray dogs wandered onto the movie set. Both dogs were transported to us via limousine and the Hackmans came up the following week and adopted one of them.#adoptdontshop.” Their current dog couldn’t be the same one, but unless the dog had developed some terrible disease and the couple decided to go off to the Elysian Fields with it in a show of solidarity (or the dog was the author of a double murder-suicide, an even more remote possibility) it seems overwhelmingly likely that the Hackmans, having decided to go out together, decided to kill their dog as well.
If true, that was selfish, narcissistic and unethical. Dogs will adjust to losing their owners, often with more resilience than owners show when they lose their dogs. I once had a long and angry argument with the elderly parents of a friend who were preparing to euthanize their big, happy, healthy dog before they moved to a retirement community. “Roxie won’t be happy living with anyone else!” they told me. Baloney. I told them that I guaranteed that if the dog could speak, its sentiment would have been along the lines of, “Hey, I really like you guys and I’ll miss you a lot, I will, but trust me, I’ll get over it. Don’t do me any favors. I have more naps to take, squirrels to chase and biscuits to eat. But good luck in your new life.”
They killed the dog anyway.
UPDATE: “Elizabeth Jean Hackman told TMZ that while [police] are not sure of the couple’s cause of death, they think it could be due to inhaling toxic fumes. The Oscar-winner, 95, and his wife Betsy Arakawa, 64, were found dead in their Santa Fe home on Wednesday. While police at first said there were no signs of foul play, a bombshell search affidavit raises several unanswered questions. Now, cops are pushing for a full investigation….The actor was found by two maintenance workers laying dead in the mud room off his kitchen on Wednesday…. While it seems he died of a sudden fall, his wife was found in the bathroom surrounded by pills. The dog was found in a closet in the bathroom.”
Ethics Alarms 
Possibly it was accidental carbon monoxide poisoning ….just a thought.
I hope so.
It was the first news I encountered this morning, too. Gene Hackman was also one of my all-time favorite actors. I was able to get his autograph through a private signing a few years ago. I’m glad I did as there was never another chance.
I certainly hope it was not a suicide. Though the investigation is still on-going, it’s also possible that there was a gas/carbon monoxide leak of some kind that might have killed them.
How horrible, regardless.
This is where I, as an ethical journalist, suggest that your speculation jumps to conclusions which are, as yet, unsupported by available facts. More reporting is needed, beginning with details of the ongoing investigation by local authorities before what you’ve suggested can be taken as fact.
For equally speculative instance, as an alternative possibility to suicide, it’s cold in Santa Fe in February; perhaps a malfunctioning heater caused a buildup of poisonous carbon monoxide in the house asphyxiating all inside, human and canine. I agree that a conscious decision to mutually end it all is likely, perhaps even the most likely. If so, I agree that ending their dog’s life as well is abhorrent. But not uniquely so; I knew an elderly woman who had her toy poodle euthanized after her death so they could be cremated and interred together. (Yeah, weird even for Florida.)
Oh, I know people kill healthy dogs out of “love” frequently. It’s only a step or two above the Goebbels killing their children in the bunker. I discussed this with Spuds and he agrees with me.
I’m still conflicted about the Goebbels’ kids. Most certainly, Frau Goebbels’ belief that her children should not live in a world without the Fuehrer was unhinged, but she also allowed that they would certainly have very difficult lives with the world believing their father to be a monster.
Nevertheless, one thing that is not normally considered is that the children may have fallen into Soviet hands if they had not been taken out of the capital quickly enough. Both Hanna Reisch and Albert Speer claimed to have offered to do just that and both were able to get away. Otherwise, I would shudder to think of six innocent children (12 and under) taken into Soviet custody and what would have happened to them solely by virtue of being their father’s offspring.
This is the first I’ve heard of Goeble’s kids (they only teach so much in highschool).
Still, I’m not sure where there is room to feel conflict. The children either die at the hands of their own parents, or maybe by the Russians. Or the Russians send them deep into Siberia.
Trying to save your kids my killing them is monsterous. I cannot find myself shuddering at the fact that they might have died a different death if their monster parents didn’t kill them first.
That’s why I’m conflicted about it. Yes, it was wrong of them to kill their children. They wouldn’t be the first to do so under the belief that they were sparing the kids a terrible future.
I suppose it’s a measure of degrees here. Children are not dogs or vice versa; however, what would it take – how horrible would a situation have to be – for a parent to reasonably believe that killing his or her own child (I’m setting aside the abortion issue for now) is an ethical choice? Imminent starvation? Torture at the hands of an invader?
Japanese parents tossed themselves and their children into the sea because they were told American soldiers would torment and torture them?
Heck, in the “MASH” finale, a Korean woman smothers her baby to prevent its cries from alerting Chinese troops that a bus full of refugees, American soldiers and 4077th staff were nearby – sending Hawkeye Pierce into a mental breakdown.
Now, “MASH” is just a show, the Japanese were victims of propaganda and Joseph and Magda Goebbels were just fanatics, but I think it’s an interesting question.
Obviously, of course, this has nothing to do with Gene Hackman and I do agree with our host that killing a healthy dog just because you think it can’t bear to live without you is demented.
For the longest time, I understood the notion of people putting animals down as part of their own deaths.
Then our dog Bailey came along and changed my ethical viewpoint forever.
As long as an animal is not sociopathic/psychopathic, a home can almost always be found for it. And that’s what should happen.
Spuds was making me choke up yesterday. He is such a sweet dog who just wants to have a family around him, and my wife would get upset thinking about how be had been abused, neglected, and left alone for so much of his life—betrayed by three consecutive owners. I could not lete him betrayed him again.
We visited our son and his family last week. He was Bailey’s original owner until we took over. It’s funny how that pup – now gone two and a half years – always finds its way into some part of the conversation.
And it’s always emotional for me…not to the point of tears any longer, but to the point of nostalgia and re-living that loss, and missing her.
I think the emotions we have about our animals are appropriate and good. And Jack, you’ll feel that extra love from Spuds in these next days especially. It’s a treasure.
If it was a suicide pact and they killed the dog then it’s probably because they didn’t want the dog eating them, dogs that are starving will resort to that. Since there could be other reasons for the sudden deaths of all three at the same time, I think it’s prudent not to jump to conclusions and wait for more information.
Well, you give the dog to that shelter that you know so well if getting eaten is your concern. A dead aged husband, a dead much younger wife and a dead dog only leave a finite number of plausible scenarios.
Jack wrote, “Well, you give the dog to that shelter that you know so well if getting eaten is your concern.”
I have no disagreement with that.
What’s certain to me is that those that are in the process of conducting a suicide pact aren’t necessarily thinking in a way that most of us would consider being rational, non-rational thinking can certainly end with non-rational conclusions resulting in non-rational actions.
Jack wrote, “A dead aged husband, a dead much younger wife and a dead dog only leave a finite number of plausible scenarios.”
I’m not so sure about that.
The report I read stated, “The office confirmed that foul play is not suspected as a factor in the deaths at this time, but the cause of death has not been determined.” The statement “cause of death has not been determined” as opposed “cause of death has not been released” leads me to believe that poisoning of some kind took place.
Even though there’s likely only a few things that could actually cause all three of their deaths at the same time (CO or direct poisoning or suicide by firearm), but if there was malice or negligence involved (which we don’t know for sure yet) there could be a multitude of things that led to this end result.
All that said, I’m still gonna wait for more information before I inadvertently slip down a slippery slope of prejudging the situation based on the limited release of information.
It saddens me to see how so many people immediately jump to murder/suicide in the absence of any details.
I choose instead to hope for malfunctioning heater and carbon monoxide poisoning, withholding judgement until I get further details.
You can hope, but police would have been able to determine quickly any gas in the room, don’t you think?
There’s a difference between determining and announcing. Authorities have been known to take their time in making something public, whether in the courtroom (your venue) or the press conference (my bailiwick). Waiting for the findings of a medical examiner before issuing a statement is a likely SOP for the local law enforcement.
That all makes sense, Gregg. My goal is a little bit tangential: the situation as it appears gives me a chance to write about that dog-killing issue, which has long bothered me. The suicide as euthanasia issue is trickier, and I didn’t delve into that morass because I’m sympathetic with it if not entirely supportive. At 95 I get it…at 64, not so much, but I’ll wait to see if she had some dire diagnosis, as I said in the post. My position regarding the dog-killing instinct won’t change even if the facts reveal that this isn’t what happened in Santa Fe. I’ll do a follow-up when the investigation is complete.
Good point Jack, but since Carbon monoxide gas is colorless and does not smell, I’m not sure law enforcement personnel could make that determination immediately upon entering a dwelling. (of course fire department personnel usually do have detectors that could determine of CO is present).
Just giving this further thought, and not having any medical training, I could surmise that if there are no immediately visible wounds, like stabbings or gunshot wounds, there could be possible other causes, for example voluntary or involuntary drug overdoses. Although the dog being dead at the same time complicates that idea.
Sorry, I’m not trying to start an argument just trying to explain my way of thinking.
Re: the update.
I think it may all depend on what those pills were. Could he have suddenly fallen – a collapse due to CO-2 poisoning, maybe? – that she thought might be a heart attack? He’d had a heart attack many years ago. Could she have run to get the pills (heart pills?) to help him only to be overcome by gas? Could the dog have been put in the closet to keep him out of the way while helping Gene? If so, why was that dog not overcome by fumes?
I think I have more questions now than I did before.
Yes, me too.
Updated report…
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/oscar-winning-actor-gene-hackman-wife-found-dead-santa-fe-home
And…
https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/27/entertainment/gene-hackman-betsy-arakawa-death/index.html
Signs of mummification??? WTF!
PWS
I think that means basic drying.
“I think that means basic drying.”
I reckon, but I always thought that…um…process required efforts made by the living.
And no one checks in on a 95 year old, and he/she/they aren’t seen walking their dog/s for two (2) weeks?
PWS
Yup, still lots of questions surrounding these circumstances.
I’m assuming that’s why the neighbor called in a welfare check.
She was near a space heater so that could have done it.
Space heater may also indicate a problem with the furnace and that could lean further toward a leak of some kind.
A M Golden wrote, “Space heater may also indicate a problem with the furnace and that could lean further toward a leak of some kind.”
The report says that they checked for leaks, none found.
By the way, it’s not uncommon when renovating older homes and adding a restroom or bathroom that an in-wall space heater is added because they can’t get ductwork to heat the area. I’ve seen many homes down south that have in-wall space heaters in power rooms near the front door.
I had no idea. I know the SW can get cold this time of year, especially at night so I assumed that they had the space heater in there to compensate for a heating problem. It made sense to me anyway. I learn something new every day.
Just couldn’t resist that last role. I guarantee that he was better than Tom Cruise was in his version of “The Mummy”…
After my brother died, my sister-in-law wanted to move to a smaller place that might not accept animals. However, she felt that his dog would not do well being rehomed, so she kept the dog with her. We had several conversations about potential new owners for him. As it happened, she also died unexpectedly a few months later. With few options, the dog was taken in by my nephew, who already had several dogs and cats, and since then, he (the dog) has flourished, despite our worry that he wouldn’t be able to adjust. I was so surprised and impressed that this worked out so well, and I’m glad that no one suggested that he be put down.
Another reason to have carbon monoxide detectors installed in your home if you have a gas furnace.
Still no evidence that carbon monoxide was involved in the tragedy.
In fact, it looks like the front door was open so it seems less likely now that it was a leak of some kind.
So, maybe they were out walking the dogs. He was feeling chest pains, so they went inside, leaving the door open in their haste. The other dogs continued to run around outside, one came inside. She rushed to get pills, shut the remaining dog in a closet to keep him from getting too upset about the situation and interfering and…?
She had a heart attack of her own? She accidentally dropped the pills, reached down and banged her head?
I don’t know if anyone is still following this strange story, but they finally released what happened with the three deaths in Gene Hackman’s home.
It appears that Gene Hackman’s wife, Betsy Arakawa, died first of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome and she likely died more than a week before Gene died. Gene died of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease along with advanced Alzheimer’s disease. The dog (a mutt not a German Shepherd) had undergone a medical procedure a couple of days prior to Betsy’s death and likely died of dehydration/starvation because it was locked in the crate and no one gave it water or food. With Gene having advanced Alzheimer’s disease, he likely had no clue that his wife was dead in the bathroom or that the dog in the kennel needed help.
My initial response, “Since there could be other reasons for the sudden deaths of all three at the same time, I think it’s prudent not to jump to conclusions and wait for more information” and “I’m still gonna wait for more information before I inadvertently slip down a slippery slope of prejudging the situation based on the limited release of information” was completely justified.
My wife asked me this morning why didn’t Betsy seek emergency medical attention for an illness that clearly had to have been overcoming her and my answer was she probably figured that she could tough it out so she could stay home and help Gene who clearly needed help with his advanced Alzheimer’s disease. She made a bad choice, one that directly contributed to her own death. It’s quite likely that she was an overly stubborn person.
This has got to be one of the strangest timeline of coincidental deaths I’ve ever heard of, there’s likely more than a one in a trillion chance that something like this ever happens again. Weird.
Other take-aways: 1) I am now more worried about my seasonal mouse infestation than ever, since it was a mouse-born disease that killed Mrs. Hackman. 2) What a sad end for the actor, wandering around the house helpless with his caregiver’s body in the bathroom for days. 3) Occams Razor doesn’t always work. My—as you say, premature—assumption was based on a dual suicide, a far, far more likely scenario than the reality. 4) I still feel sorry for the dog, who must have felt betrayed.