No CO in either body

^^^ with only 4 words, this makes little sense to me. Please expand a bit.

Go to Google

They did not die of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Correct FOAS

I just heard that, too. Gotta wait for the toxicology results. So odd!

Tox reports showed no CO

This is a weird story. Waiting to see what the final report says....

Now I'm reading that his pacemaker last showed any activity 9 days before his body was found? That's a long time. Laying dead in my home for days or weeks is an irrational fear of mine.

TV, I read about the pacemaker this morning. They mentioned Feb. 17. That is a long time.

" I'm more fearful of lying NOT dead in my home for days. "

That's rational, at least. My fear is admittedly irrational.

Me, I am thinking about the poor dog trapped in a crate.

patriciae

Another report stated the GSD was in a bathroom closet. If that is true, maybe the dog did eat scattered pills and went there to be comfortable. Or maybe the dog was staying close to Ms.Arakawa.

“Me, I am thinking about the poor dog trapped in a crate.”

Me too.😞 It sounds like the dog was confined in a crate…?

Their other 2 dogs are okay

Santa Fe County Sheriff's Post

Santa Fe County Sheriff

1d · Santa Fe, NM (February 27, 2025): On Wednesday February 26, 2025, at approximately 1:45 p.m., Santa Fe County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to an address on Old Sunset Trail where Gene Hackman, 95 and his wife Betsy Arakawa, 65 and a dog were found deceased. An individual arrived to perform maintenance on the residence, became concerned after receiving no answer, and contacted neighborhood security to conduct a welfare check. Security then checked on the residence and observed Hackman and Arakawa on the ground unresponsive through a window and called 911.Deputies arrived and gained access to the residence where they observed Mrs. Arakawa deceased. They continued their search of the home and located Mr. Hackman in another area, also deceased. A dog was also found deceased and two other dogs who appeared healthy were located on the property. Deputies then secured the scene and notified the criminal investigations division. Due to the unusual circumstances of two decedents in the residence there was a concern for scene safety. The Santa Fe City Fire personnel and the New Mexico Gas Company were requested to the scene to test for carbon monoxide or other foreign elements. The scene was deemed safe and at approximately 9:30 p.m. a search warrant was issued and executed on the residence.Investigation personnel worked diligently throughout the night and morning to process the scene for evidence. It should be noted there were no apparent signs of foul play. In the early hours of Thursday, February 27, 2025, Hackman and Arakawa were transported to the Office of the Medical Investigator. An autopsy was performed. Initial findings noted no external trauma to either individual. Carbon monoxide and toxicology tests were requested for both individuals. The manner and cause of death has not been determined. The official results of the autopsy and toxicology reports are pending. This remains an open investigation.The Santa Fe County Animal Control Division worked with family to ensure the safety of the two dogs.The Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office offers our condolences to the Hackman and Arakawa family.Sheriff Adan Mendoza will not be conducting interviews. As further information becomes available, we will notify the media###END

Right, the two other dogs are good. Sounds like the maintenance guy found the front door open with one surviving dog inside, and the other outside on the property. You have to wonder why the poor third dog was confined to a crate inside a bathroom closet.

As corny as this sounds, my favorite character role he played was as the Preacher in the Poseidon Adventure movie. I wish all Preachers were like that, the world would be a better place. May they both RIP, and sorry for the dog too.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/gene-hackman-death-mystery-sheriff-provide-updates-friday/story?id=119510052

”Hackman, 95, died of cardiovascular and Alzheimer's disease likely around Feb. 18, about one week after his wife died from a rare syndrome, hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, on about Feb. 11, officials said.”

No one saw that coming. Alzheimer's--he didn't even seek help. Sad sad end of his story.

Just heard this. Very sad she died first and he was not even aware. Still waiting about the dog but maybe starvation? Just awful.😞

The dog starved or died of thirst. He was kenneled because Betsy had pocked him up at the vet's from a procedure on Feb 11. A very sad story.

From one report I heard about Hantavirus, it can kill one very quickly if not diagnosed and treated. Their home wasn’t rodent infested, according to the report, but living in the desert environment, there were rodents around so she could have been exposed in a number of ways. So sad that he couldn’t respond to what happened to her and eventually died as well.

Just read about this too, so sad.

This article details her movements just before she passed - seems like it must have happened rather suddenly:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2025/03/07/gene-hackman-cause-of-death-wife/80684790007/

The whole thing is really tragic.

I suspected it was going to be something like this, she died and he didnt have the wherewithal to get help. Very, very sad.

And whats especially sad is that their children never checked on them or requested a wellness check in all that time.

The dog that died was in a crate. The other two had a doggie door to the outside.

It's just so sad on a number of levels.

“And whats especially sad is that their children never checked on them or requested a wellness check in all that time.”

Exactly what DH and I are thinking! If not children, then maybe a housekeeper or someone in all that time.🤷‍♀️

I don't think it would be unusual in many families, especially when one spouse isn't particularly old, when they have the resources to hire outside help if they need it, for several weeks to go by without contact. I don't know about any children of theirs, but at his age, he could have had elderly children, older than his wife, dealing with their own health issues, etc.

eta: I googled and two kids are in their 60's one late 50's. We don't know if any of them called in that time, or why they would be worried if they didn't get an immediate call back. With a much younger wife, they probably figured they'd hear if anything were wrong with their dad. Or maybe they didn't get along with her...

Families. Who knows.

Now that I think about it, my father’s second wife was 30 years younger. I couldnt stand her ( naturally). I never called to check because she was two months younger than me. He had a stroke and died five years later. She died after him at 57. She had a daughter and they moved to a retirement community with friendly neighbors.

So i wont be judgey of their kids.

It's not all the uncommon for parents to be estranged from their children. Along the lines of what dedtired suggested.

I looked it up and some material I found suggested that he had a reputation for having an angry and petulant manner when working. That's not a good trait for happy family relationships. Only those concerned will know.

Earlier we had read that Betsy had not called her mother in a couple of months, and the mother’s caregiver found that unusual. and if one’s father has dementia, one would keep in some kind of contact, I would think. Especially if no emails, text messages, calls, or other presence were noted.

I wonder if any of the people whose emails and other messages went unanswered wondered to others what was going on?

To me it's one of the saddest stories I've ever read. I can't stop picturing Hackman wandering around the house aimlessly. If he went into the bathroom did he not recognize the scene for what is was? Or did he then attempt to go outside (there was a door near the mudroom that he was found in) and think maybe he had to summon help? He might not have found a phone to call for help or didn't know how to use one anymore. And that poor dog. The whole thing is so macabre.

When my parents were alive, I would talk with my mother on the phone once a week, and we had set a day of the week and time to do this. I learned to do this from my roommate in San Francisco, whose Sicilian mother would call from New York every Sunday at 6 PM, Pacific time.

I was talking with my sister today, and I happened to mention to her that if Kevin and I dropped dead in our house, there is no telling how long it would take for someone to discover us. We had friends in Los Angeles who lived close to us, but we hardly know anyone here, beyond our real estate agent, accountant, and financial advisor, and we are not in that close contact with any of those. Kevin goes to ostomy meetings every month or two, but sometimes he skips them, but otherwise we do not have much of a social life. Once I finish getting everything settled in the houses, I will make more of an effort to go out more.

My friend from San Francisco (mentioned above) was here last week, but otherwise we do not communicate on a daily basis. It was a lot easier to make friends in L.A., and I am going to have to find a way to do that here. Unfortunately, the neighbors here pretty much keep to themselves and are not that friendly. One house next to us is empty most of the time.

Lars, certainly people here would feel your absence!

I have a friend who lives alone. Not here in the city either. She checks in with someone who lives nearby. Just a quick ”how’s it going?” text. Just in case.

I think it’s a good idea. Could you think of someone, till you can get out more?

I worry about that I will end up like Betsy as a caretaker. This is a wake-up call to accept more help.

Lars, the chances of you and your brother dying at the same time at home are so infinitesimally small that I wouldn't give it a second thought. Good idea about increasing your friends base. Whichever one of you is left after the other dies will have a pretty lonely existence without friends close by. You have so many talents, I'm sure you could figure out a way to share them to start getting to know others. Start a meet-up group to teach cooking some specialty, or a sewing class or how to upholster a chair. I recently saw a group getting together to learn/teach how to paint chairs - everyone brought a small chair to use as their project. Surely there are spaces available to use. Our library lends sewing machines. Maybe how to redo or make lampshades or??? Or costume making for Halloween, hats?

These were the types of chairs people were painting. It looked like a lot of fun.

I knew a couple of people who were gone a few days before being discovered. I wonder that the Hackmans had no indoor housekeeping or social worker due to Gene’s health. That is a lot for someone to take care of. She was about my age, my parents were about Gene’s age at their passings, I can’t imagine being sole caregiver. Gene was so much taller than Betsy, it cannot have been easy 24-7. Alzheimer's takes a tremendous toll on a caregiver, physically and emotionally/mentally.

I do worry about my two brothers, both of whom live alone in the nearby city. If I don’t have a reason to contact them, sometimes I will just text a joke or a reminiscence just as a check-in. If I don't get a reply in a day or two I worry. One just bought a new home and I have to remember to get a key. The other travels a lot, doesn’t always let people know except for a couple of friends, who now live 8-hours away by air, and I don’t have their numbers (I used to know where one of them worked but he changed jobs with the move.)

When I was my Mom’s caregiver, I’d call three or four times a day if I was working. As the years went by, I was needed more and more, so I was there each day

I was thinking along the same lines as bpath. It's odd that they didn't have a home health aide for Gene. News reports were that Betsy was out shopping not long before she died. Who was taking care of her husband? Did she just leave him home alone? It's tough taking care of someone with advanced Alzheimers; they need constant "babysitting." It sounds like the Hackmans could have afforded help. Why wasn't there any?

It might be difficult to get help in Santa Fe - the demand may exceed the supply. I think it might be like that in Palm Springs as well. I know that the demand for primary care physicians exceeds the supply, and therefore it is difficult to get appointments. When I did get an appointment, it was extremely abbreviated and my concerns were not addressed at all.

While I am still thinking about opening an Etsy store, it might be better if I try to sell some things on consignment, although I know that is difficult to do. Still, it would force me to go out and interact with more people.

I used to go out shopping a lot more than I do now, and so I met a lot of people who worked in stores - this was especially true when I lived in San Francisco. However, I did not really know my neighbors when I lived in SF.

When I lived in Venice, I knew the neighbors on both sides of us, and the guys on one side would invite us to their parties, and I invited them to my parties. They were a lot of fun, even though they were much younger. They liked me because I gave them food all the time, which was a good way for me to get rid of leftovers. Also, I had a view of their interior patio area from my kitchen window, and I could talk to them through my window. I really like it when I have friendly neighbors, and I miss that about L.A.

My sister's husband had advanced Alzheimer's just before he died, and she had to quit her job to take care of him 24/7, but she was already 74. Now that he has been dead for a year or two, she has gone back to work, even though she certainly does not need the money.

Lars, how is the estate sale business there? I imagine people are coming and going all the time, and it could be interesting to work at that. You have a lot ofknowledge to share, and learn about pricing at such events. And you’d get to know people who frequent the sales.

😊Dearest Lars, you have friends. You've recently moved and will come to know your neighbors. We've had little signals in our neighborhood forever. At our former house the elderly widower at the back of the lane would open his bathroom blinds each morning to signal to the woman next door he was up (and had used his bathroom) She was not in the least interested in anything else taking place in his bathroom and he knew that, drew the blinds again on his way to bed..

Mother and I had an agreement. She emailed me when she got up and made her morning coffee. I responded. She emailed again when returned home from her evening swim at the Y so I would know she was in the house and not on the garage floor. It worked. Some senior centers have that service and Yes, I know you are not of that age yet. It can be something as simple as a 30 second phone call. Hi. Glad you are at home and inside. i will call you tomorrow. I would be your touch base person myself, you and your brother certainly deserve one.

A friend of mine is in a texting circle, where each person texts one other person every morning and they text back before noon. Calling wouldn't work as well because many people don't have time for a phone conversation. But texting is fast and fits everyone's schedule.

As to assistance in the home, in many instances, workers don't require much training, beyond knowing when to call 911. They help with activities of daily living, like feeding and dressing, and make sure the person doesn't wander (at my Mom's memory care, they used to call that "eloping.") I wonder how his wife was able to handle toileting, since Mr. Hackman was so big.

Home healthcare is pretty low paid and given the current purge of people willing to take those jobs, it will probably become harder to find help. On the other hand, there are now lots of fired government employees who will soon be desperate for any kind of work.

Fluent English may not even be that necessary once the patient becomes non-verbal. For a while, my mom went to daycare. One day we were told that someone's mother, who had Alzheimers. was visiting from Germany. She and my mom became immediate friends and spent the day together, neither one being able to talk to the other.

A few years ago there was a news story about a woman who had been tied up in her own home by an intruder. She and her daughters, who lived in another state, texted their wordle results to each other every morning. When she didn't text that morning, and didn't reply to subsequent texts and calls, the daughters called a neighbor to go check.

So it doesn't have to be a "yes, I'm still alive today" text, but a regular check-in.

My sole surviving relative on my mom’s side is her sister, my 86 year old widowed aunt with no living children. She lives independently in a huge retirement modular home park in N. Phoenix. She has a much younger - late 60’s - neighbor couple across the street who is fond of her. Each morning my aunt opens her blinds in her front windows by noon. If they’re not opened, she would get a call / text from that neighbor & if no immediate response a knock at her door. This neighbor also has a key to my aunt’s home as well as has all my contact info & I also have met this person. On a personal note, recently I was touched by receiving a text from a next door neighbor & a call from another neighbor around the corner inquiring about my DH. Next door had noted not seeing my DH outside doing things like pulling car into garage, or trash cans to / from street on trash day. The other neighbor had seen me out walking our little dog alone. We usually are a trio. My DH was dealing with a kidney stone for over a month - too large to pass so he was only leaving the house in the car with me & to medical appointments. It was very heartening to know we & our routines were noticed. Before we retired to this home, still working & living in a much larger community, I had a scary experience at home while living alone for an extended time. My DH was working on a project that required travel & stay from our West Coast home to FL. For almost a year he was away 4 weeks, home 3 weeks. I was working too so couldn’t travel or visit him. While eating a Friday night meal at home I choked on a pea & learned to perform the Heimlich manuever on myself! Once I calmed myself I realized no one would miss me until I failed to show up for work on Monday. When my DH was away I tended to be a bit of a recluse during my non-work hours. I ate a lot of soup after that! 😊 My job was high stress & long hours so the quiet of home was welcome. My point of sharing this memory is that any person who lives alone & doesn’t have frequent & consistant contact with another person is at risk of being in a situation of needing help & not being able to get it. I do keep my phone close at all times but that’s not always going to be any help.

I turn 64 this year and live alone in a rather rural house (no neighbours closer than 300' or so). I've been thinking a lot about this situation, and know that I might not be able to continue to get out to my social activities and exercise for as many years more as I would like, nor continue to take care of the house properly. I have my eye on some type of independent seniors community, one where I could have shared social space for socializing and recreation/exercise to see more people, while still maintaining my own home (apartment). I'm actually thinking about going to see a few places now, with a plan to move in 5 or 7 years or so - hopefully I won't need it sooner. Late 60s can be young for those types of places, but I'd rather move too early than wait too long.

I, too, am trying to train myself to take my phone with me everywhere I go - even to the kitchen or bathroom. It won't help in every situation, but being able to contact someone is better than not.

Does anyone still read Between Naps on the Porch? Thank goodness for ”reader view”, I can, without ”distracting items”. Anyway, today she recounts driving a UHaul from Georgia to Ohio. By herself. I wondered why her son didn’t fly down to help her? Then she says that when she arrived in Ohio, she discovered her son was on a camping trip with his kids, so she hired UHaul movers to unload the truck. She is not elderly and infirm, but did her son not know she was doing this, and be available just in case?

I mean, it drives me nuts now when my younger brother, age 63, calls me from some out of the way place that he has driven to on ”vacation”. His car was breaking down once on one such trip, he didn’t tell me about it till way later. My other brother likes to go camping. By himself. He does go to campgrounds but gets a secluded site.

I remember when the guy who was hiking and coimbing in a canyon, got stuck and had to cut his own arm off. He had told no one he was going or where. Not long before, there had been a story about a woman who had gone hiking alone and left copies of her maps on her kitchen table. They came in handy for her rescue.

Just tell somebody. If you don’t hear from them, check in. I’m off to text my younger, peripatetic brother to ease my mind right now.

update: he’s fine, getting on a jet plane in a few days and will be back in a couple of weeks.

30 days later the bodies have finally been claimed. sigh