As authorities investigate the causes of deaths of Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, close and longtime friends of the couple say they seemed to be in good health at their most recent encounter.
“Last time we saw them, they were alive and well,” Daniel Lenihan told CNN’s Erin Burnett Friday night. Barbara, Lenihan’s wife, said that she had last seen Arakawa a few weeks ago at a home décor shop the two had opened together in Santa Fe and frequently spoke.
“They were so delightful to be around,” Barbara said, adding how proud Hackman and Arakawa were of each other. “Probably never seen a couple that got along and enjoyed each other so much.”
Because of health concerns following the Covid-19 pandemic, the Lenihans had seen less of the couple recently, Barbara said. Arakawa took extra precautions such as masking to ensure that her husband wouldn’t get sick, they said.
Like many others, the Lenihans are waiting for answers about what led to their friends’ deaths, after Hackman, Arakawa and one of their dogs were found dead in their secluded Santa Fe home this week.
Hackman and Arakawa’s bodies were discovered by maintenance workers at their home Wednesday afternoon, the sheriff’s office affidavit for a search warrant obtained by CNN affiliate KOAT states.
The couple’s bodies were found in separate rooms –– Hackman was found on the ground near the kitchen, while Arakawa was discovered in the bathroom, with scattered pills next to her, according to the sheriff’s office.
A German shepherd dog, who was kept in a crate, was also found dead in the bathroom, the affidavit said. Two other dogs were found on the property alive and in good condition.
While investigators have not yet determined whether Hackman and Arakawa died at the same time, data from Hackman’s pacemaker shows he was likely dead for nine days before.
The pacemaker shows Hackman’s “last event” was recorded on February 17, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said at a Friday news conference. “According to the pathologist, I think that is a very good assumption, that that was his last day of life,” the sheriff said.
Arakawa’s body meanwhile “showed obvious signs of death, body decomposition, bloating in her face and mummification (sic) in both hands and feet,” the affidavit states. Mummification usually starts over two weeks after a person dies, Santa Fe Fire Chief Brian Moya said.
Daniel Lenihan, who co-authored several novels with Hackman, noted the few details released so far are not “at all filled in yet,” yet what they’ve heard so far “just doesn’t fit” with what they knew of their friends.
“We don’t understand what happened with that,” he said.
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