# Gene Hackman and wife found dead, and dog **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** celebrity-death\ **Created:** [February 27, 2025, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861 "2025-02-27T08:27:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2025, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861/141 "2025-03-01T03:55:28Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Apparently I’m not wealthy enough to know what a mud room even is. I grew up poor and I know what that is as the mobile home I grew up in had one. It’s also called the laundry room with an exterior door. The converted school bus I also lived in had one, but we called it the front door (the main door as compared to the “back door” aka emergency door at the back). You walk in and take off your mud covered boots. And as others have said, it’s nice to have a place to sit down to do so. Nothing fancy about this. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2025, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861/142 "2025-03-01T04:03:22Z")
My WAG - she fell or had an emergency situation in the bathroom (where she died) - he heard the commotion from the ‘mud room’ and had a heart attack on his way to her (where he died). ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2025, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861/143 "2025-03-01T05:02:34Z")
Pacemaker’s last activity on Feb 17. My mom had a pacemaker cellular monitor linked to her cardiologist office. It wasn’t green. That’s an odd color for a electronics box. > **[Gene Hackman was likely dead for 9 days before he and his wife were found,...](https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/28/entertainment/what-we-know-gene-hackman-betsy-arakawa-hnk/index.html)** > > Legendary actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead Wednesday in their New Mexico home, along with their dog, in circumstances officials deemed “suspicious enough” to warrant thorough investigation. > [@](#): > > As authorities investigate their deaths, several items have been taken from the couple’s home. > > Two green cellular devices were removed, along with three medicines: a thyroid medication, Diltiazem – used to treat high blood pressure or chest pain – and Tylenol, according to the inventory released Friday as part of a search warrant affidavit in Santa Fe County court. > > Also seized by sheriff’s deputies were records from MyQuest – a medical diagnostics service – and a 2025 monthly planner, it says ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2025, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861/144 "2025-03-01T05:19:30Z")
I actually remember him mainly from a largely-forgotten early 1990s movie called “Class Action”, which was about a lawsuit where father and daughter lawyers, long estranged, are on opposite ends of a, you guessed it, class action suit. It was basically a TV movie put into the theaters, but I enjoyed it. It seems like the more we know about this, the stranger the story becomes. Either it’s going to have a bizarre explanation, or something very straightforward. MHO. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2025, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861/145 "2025-03-01T06:00:41Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I actually remember him mainly from a largely-forgotten early 1990s movie called “Class Action”, which was about a lawsuit where father and daughter lawyers, long estranged, are on opposite ends of a, you guessed it, class action suit. Seems to me one of them would’ve been required to recuse themselves, but that’s movie logic for ya. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2025, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861/146 "2025-03-01T06:44:18Z")
This is gonna bug me like the 3 guys freezing in the back yard of another friend. The truth will be disappointingly boring, yet still sad. ---
**Author:** ![Moonrise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonrise/32/14764_2.png) [@Moonrise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonrise)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2025, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861/147 "2025-03-01T11:23:51Z")
[hijack] I liked her a lot. She was from Cameroon, about 10 years older than me, and she called me “boss” everytime we met. I wasn’t her boss, so I asked her once why she said this and she replied that it was a term of respect in her home country, and that the equivalent for a woman was “Mama”. After that, I started calling her “Mama”, of course. The look on our clients’ faces when they heard us was priceless (I very much do not look like I’m from Sub-Saharan Africa). [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2025, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861/148 "2025-03-01T11:40:45Z")
Authorities say Hackman and his wife may have been dead for 9 days before their bodies were discovered. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2025, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861/149 "2025-03-01T15:14:06Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Ignition switch? Cars don’ got no steenkin’ ignition switch. Unless the late Mr Hackman drove a ~2005 car. Say _what?_ Our 2019 truck and 2021 car both have keys, and won’t start without them. One even has (gasp!) manual windows and door locks. > [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Mamet is an acquired taste, > [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Rebecca Pidgeon, Well, dog my cats! She stunk up her Jesse Stone movie, too. Shoulda used Gene Hackman instead. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2025, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861/150 "2025-03-01T15:39:36Z")
What it now looks like is that Hackman fell and died - as very old people do - and his wife took too many pills in a state of anguish. The poor dog died of thirst. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2025, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861/151 "2025-03-01T15:41:51Z")
If that’s the outcome, it’s a real tragedy. ---
**Author:** ![bobsmom101](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobsmom101/32/2867_2.png) [@bobsmom101](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobsmom101)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2025, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861/152 "2025-03-01T16:36:24Z")
Or Ms Arakawa died first (she was not a young person either) and Mr Hackman, in the throes of dementia, wandered around until he succumbed from dehydration or a fall. That would explain why no one saved the poor dog. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2025, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861/153 "2025-03-01T18:00:50Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > What it now looks like is that Hackman fell and died Or died and fell. Sudden incapacitation happens to 90-somethings a lot too. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2025, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861/154 "2025-03-01T21:07:07Z")
> [@bobsmom101](#): > > Or Ms Arakawa died first (she was not a young person either) and Mr Hackman, in the throes of dementia, wandered around until he succumbed from dehydration or a fall. This seems more logical to me. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2025, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861/155 "2025-03-01T21:19:39Z")
A few wild speculations I have seen on TV 1. One of them died, and the other committed suicide. 2. He had a heart attack or a fall. She went to the bathroom to get his heart medicine. She had a fall. 3. She had a fall. He wanted to go get help from the neighbors. He had a heart attack or a fall in the mud room. 4. I have seen one report claim that the police found pills spilled on a countertop in the bathroom, but none on the floor. Speculation that the dog may have eaten the pills on the floor, and accidentally poisoned itself. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2025, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861/156 "2025-03-01T21:44:15Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > > [@RickJay](#): > > > > What it now looks like is that Hackman fell and died > > Or died and fell. Sudden incapacitation happens to 90-somethings a lot too. Falling is a big risk factor as one gets older (ask me how I know!). And though it may not be immediately fatal, it can have fatal consequences down the road, such as from a fractured hip or a concussion. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2025, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861/157 "2025-03-01T23:04:06Z")
I’m thinking maybe the two surviving dogs killed Hackman and his wife, all to distract authorities from their real target, the third dog. The canine pair then (sloppily) tried to make each death look like an accident. Can’t deny they are the least likely suspects. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2025, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861/158 "2025-03-01T23:06:52Z")
Unless there was a cat in the household or a neighboring one. You can’t trust the felines. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2025, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861/159 "2025-03-01T23:56:44Z")
Yeah, sure. Just blame it on the “ethnic” member of the household. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2025, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861/160 "2025-03-03T03:41:38Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > If Gene left his car running in the garage to warm it up then the car would eventually run out of gas and the ignition switch would still be on. Not impossible, but fairly unlikely - cars run cleaner than they did, and it sounds like the couple were in different places in the house. The CO would have needed to permeate the entire house to a sufficient concentration to cause death, and this would require a very well-sealed house and a car with a full gas tank. My husband’s uncle committed suicide by sitting in a closed garage with the engine running. This was in the early 1970s. My nephew tried the same thing, around 2010, and failed. I think the latest reports are that it was NOT carbon monoxide poisoning, though it’s not an unreasonable first guess. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861.md?page=9)