Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa’s deaths are being deemed “suspicious” according to a new search warrant affidavit released Thursday.
What did police say about the deaths of Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa?
According to an application for a search warrant (via Variety), Detective Roy Arndt told a judge that the circumstances surrounding the surprising deaths of the couple are “suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation.”
Specifically, Arndt noted the scene of the incident at the time the police arrived. Arakawa was said to be lying on the bathroom floor. A prescription pill bottle was open on the countertop, with pills scattered nearby. Hackman was reported to have been discovered in the couple’s mud room, next to the kitchen, with his sunglasses at his side.
According to the detective, it appears as if both had “fallen to the ground.” A deceased dog was also found in the bathroom closet by Arakawa’s body, but two healthy dogs were still on the property. The front door to the couple’s house was left open, although there was no sign of forcible entry.
While initial reports pointed to something like a gas leak being the cause of death, the fire department and gas company were called to check on the property, and did not detect any issues, with Arndt noting that there was “no obvious signs of a gas leak.”
Arndt also noted that it was not clear when both Hackman and Arakawa died. The detective said that a space heater was also found by Arakawa’s head, which potentially could have fallen in the event the female abruptly fell to the ground,” according to him.
“Affiant believes that the circumstances surrounding the death of the two deceased individuals to be suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation,” Arndt’s search warrant application writes. The search warrant was approved by Santa Fe County Magistrate Court on Wednesday night, so more information is likely to come during the pending investigation.
