Gene Hackman's vehicles could solve mystery of when actor died, former investigator says
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Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their Santa Fe home Feb. 26.

By  | Fox News | Published March 7, 2025 4:00am EST



Santa Fe Fire Chief Brian Moya told Fox News Digital that since he's been chief the past three years, his department had not received any calls to the Hackman home.

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It's been over a week since  and wife Betsy Arakuwa were found dead in their Santa Fe, New Mexico, home.

With  surfacing during the investigation, Paul Mauro, a retired NYPD inspector and Fox News contributor, says there's one key detail that could solve the mystery of when the couple died.

"The public shouldn't jump to too many conclusions," , who has an extensive background in law, law enforcement and intelligence issues. "Investigators are going to get a lot of digital evidence. Reportedly, there are no cameras , but that doesn't mean there are no cameras in the area. It's a gated community. So, there are probably cameras at the gate and on the streets. The neighbors almost certainly have Ring cameras.

"The digital evidence is going to show investigators, in a very pointed way, at what point, whatever occurred, occurred. You're going to get a narrow window that you can work with. Now, once you have that, then you can really go all out at all the possible evidence points to get more data to work with. You can pull the Ring camera from the neighbors, pull the camera from the front gate, from the surrounding areas. You can see any cars going in and out."





Though reclusive, Hackman and Arakawa were often seen out and about in Santa Fe. A potential disturbance in their routine could be a major clue in the investigation, according to Mauro.

"Reportedly, Hackman and Arakawa would go regularly into Santa Fe to get coffee and run errands," Mauro stated. "They're driving around. So, let's say they drove every day. They had a routine. Every day they went to get coffee, and then … they stopped going. Again, it's another indicator. Cars these days are rolling computers.

"You'll see, ‘OK, they stopped going in the car at that point.' But what if the last time they were in the car, they went to a doctor they have never gone to before or something like that?"



"Then you're going to follow that up because it's going to have a GPS in there," he added. "You can see where the car went. You can say, 'Well, the day before she died, looks like she was at a pharmacy and re-upped her pills, and she got a pill that she'd never gotten before.' Maybe she had a bad reaction to it. Did he find her and was he going for help and fell? These are all theories you have to entertain, and the digital evidence will lead you there."



Hackman was found in the couple's mudroom. According to the search warrant affidavit, Hackman had a cane with him and sunglasses near his head. The actor showed similar "obvious signs of death."



Driving in and around town was not unusual for the couple.

Mark Kreusch, a photographer who has snapped photos of Hackman and Arakawa, would often see the pair enjoying long drives to "very, very remote" locations outside Santa Fe.

"I would see him out in remote areas in passing and just on these long drives," Kreusch told Fox News Digital.

"I actually saw them driving a couple of different times. I was coming up from either Albuquerque or I was going to Santa Fe from Taos, and I saw them and I recognized both their cars. I kind of just gave them as much space as they could get, but I would see them in these very, very remote areas. They were really picturesque places by the side of a river once, and once it was near a mountain side."



One time, in particular, Kreusch recalled seeing Hackman pull over during one of his solo drives.

"I was going skiing. and I saw him pull over," he said. "I went up  for a couple of hours. And I came back, and  had met up with him, and they were still there. It was just the two of them, but she always had her dogs with her. Always. She loved those animals.

"He wouldn't really get out of his car, but instead they would just sit and enjoy the scenery. They'd have these long times where they would just sit in the car and just hang out. I could definitely see him kind of just taking in the scenery, maybe even using it for  for later paintings."

Kreusch said it was clear the two were "really, really tight."

"They were extremely close," he said. " always seemed like a really together kind of person, as far as he was still up and about. And being at that old age, he was still really an active person."

_Fox News Digital's Lauryn Overhultz, Larry Fink and Stephanie Giang-Paunon contributed to this report._

Christina Dugan Ramirez is an  for Fox News Digital.
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