The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office released new videos and photos Tuesday of Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa’s messy home nearly two months after their tragic deaths.
Several minutes of body-cam footage obtained by Page Six showed officers walking through rooms of the multimillion-dollar compound, revealing many of the late movie star and his wife’s personal items.
The videos showed police had access to walk through a kitchen, private bedrooms, and small rooms, which appeared to be cluttered with dog crates, beds, books, boxes and more belongings, including prescription bottles, toiletries, groceries and lots of clothes.
Some parts of the home appeared more tidy, but others were in complete disarray, with feces and urine still inside of one of the bathroom’s toilet bowls and a blood-stained pillow in one of the bedrooms.
One officer could be heard in one of the clips telling another cop that they had smelled “something” upon entering the premises before noting that Arakawa had been found dead in one of the nearby areas.
In an interview conducted on March 5, Hackman’s daughters, Elizabeth and Leslie, alleged that their famous father and Arakawa were “very private” and “did not allow maids or cleaners into their home.”
However, they stated that their last contact with either Hackman or their stepmother was approximately a year and a half ago when they grabbed lunch together.
The newly shared evidence gives greater insight into the couple’s living conditions before their deaths.
Earlier this week, it was revealed Hackman and Arakawa’s $4 million compound had become a “breeding ground for infestation,” with several dead rodents, droppings and nests found throughout the property.
However, the public health department determined the main house showed no signs of infestation.
The new videos and photos do not appear to show the animal droppings that were reportedly found, likely pointing to how Arakawa and Hackman had been unaware of the dire state of their home.
The late pianist had grown concerned that her husband had been experiencing health issues, though.
A new report obtained by Page Six Tuesday showed police discovered an email Arakawa sent on Feb. 11, stating, “Hi Katia, So, G woke up today with flu/cold-like symptoms, did a covid test, negative.
“But out of abundance of caution, I should cancel my appt tomorrow and rebook, say, in a couple of weeks, last week of Feb if something is available. Thank you! Best, B”
Recent computer search history also showed she purchased “several Boost Oxygen canisters.”
The unsanitary state of the home ultimately contributed to Arakawa’s passing, whose cause of death was attributed to hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), a rare rodent-transmitted virus. She was 65.
Sheriff Adan Mendoza said in a press conference in March that the pianist had been running errands up until Feb. 11. It was then revealed she placed a call for a doctor’s appointment on Feb. 12, but did not have contact with anyone else after that.
She and Hackman were found dead inside their home more than a week later on Feb. 26. They were discovered by a longtime contractor, who described the ordeal as one of the “worst days” of his life.
At the March press conference, New Mexico Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Heather Jarrell attributed Hackman’s death to hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and “advanced Alzheimer’s disease” as a significant contributory factor. He was 95.
Local officials said at the time that they believed the movie star had likely lived with his dead wife inside their residence for about a week unknowingly given the state of his mental health.
One of the couple’s three dogs, which had been kept inside of a crate following a visit to the vet, also died likely due to starvation and dehydration from being trapped inside the cage. The two other canines survived, as it was believed they had access to food and water in other parts of the property.
Hackman and Arakawa’s bodies were finally laid to rest in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Tuesday, according to People. The late “French Connection” star’s three children reportedly attended the intimate service.
Since Hackman’s death, his estate has been trying to stop his death records, including autopsy and investigative reports, photographs and police body-camera video from being made public.
There has also been an ongoing discussion as to who will inherit the “Royal Tenenbaums” actor’s $80 million fortune, as it’s unclear whether his kids — Christopher, 65, Leslie, 58, and Elizabeth, 62 — were named in the legal document and it had not been updated since 2005.
