Did Gene Hackman and wife Betsy die by ‘companion suicide’? Expert weighs in on theory as mystery deepens

The shocking discovery of the bodies of Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa late last month has puzzled investigators, who are still trying to determine how and when the couple died.

Hackman, who was 95, and Arakawa, 65, were discovered in their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, by a neighborhood security officer after pest-control workers reported not being able to get in touch with the residents.

Authorities investigating the deaths have already said a deadly carbon monoxide leak is unlikely, but now an expert who is not involved in the investigation is weighing in on another theory recently bandied about: that Hackman and Arakawa may have died by ‘companion suicide.’

James Gill, Chief Medical Examiner for the Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, shared Tuesday with People that the theory is an unlikely explanation for the puzzling deaths.

Gill, who said he had dealt in the past with ‘cases like that,’ explained that couples who die in a dual suicide are ‘usually … together in bed.’ 

However, police have said that Hackman was found dead in the house’s mud room, with his can and sunglasses near him on the ground, while Arakawa was discovered lying on the bathroom floor with prescription pills strewn across the nearby countertop.

The two are believed to have been dead for several days before they were found, and both bodies had signs of decomposition and were partially mummified.

According to Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza, Hackman’s pacemaker was last registered as working on February 17, nine days before the bodies were discovered, which could potentially indicate the day he died.

‘The fact that they’re in two separate locations tells me that I think that’s less likely,’ Gill continued.

The medical examiner said that the initial information about the scene makes it appear as if Hackman had ‘collapsed.’

‘He’s got a history of heart disease. He’s got a pacemaker. So that would not be unusual,’ he said.

Another detail Gill focused on was the fact that Hackman was ‘ambulatory’ before his death, which he thought decreased the likelihood of a scenario in which he was left potentially helpless if Arakawa had died first.

‘Sometimes we’ll see instances where someone is bedridden and maybe they have dementia and then their caregiver dies from a natural event, and then there’s no one there to take care of them, and then they can die from dehydration or what have you,’ he explained. ‘I don’t think that’s the case in this.’

That information could be particularly useful to compare to when Arakawa may have died, though Gill admits ‘that’s a little bit of a more gray area.’