Police Share 911 Call from the Moment Gene Hackman and His Wife Were Discovered Dead | US News

An emotional 911 call from a maintenance worker who found the bodies of Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa has been made public.

The unnamed worker can be heard sobbing and repeatedly saying “damn” as he describes seeing Arakawa’s body “not moving” through a window of the couple’s New Mexico home.

He implored the 911 dispatcher to “send someone up here real quick,” mentioning that the house was locked.

On Wednesday, police discovered the bodies of 95-year-old Hackman, 65-year-old Arakawa, and one of their dogs after conducting a welfare check. Two other healthy dogs were also found on the property.

Hackman’s body was located in a mudroom, while Arakawa was found in a bathroom near a heater. Detectives from the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office stated in a search warrant that both had been deceased for some time.

Near Arakawa, there were scattered pills and an open prescription bottle on the countertop.

The circumstances surrounding the couple’s deaths are “suspicious enough to warrant a comprehensive investigation,” according to the warrant.

There were no indications of gunshot wounds, and police confirmed there were also no other visible injuries. The warrant noted that the property door was found slightly open, with no evidence of forced entry.

Preliminary results from a medical investigation indicated that the couple had experienced “no external trauma.”

Final post-mortem examinations and toxicology results are still awaited, as the sheriff’s office has yet to determine the manner and cause of death.

Earlier, Hackman’s daughter suggested that carbon monoxide may have caused the couple’s deaths, though the exact cause is still unknown.

After the bodies were discovered, the local utility company inspected the gas lines around the home and reported no issues, according to the police warrant.

Many tributes for Hackman poured in, who won an Oscar for his leading role in The French Connection, a 1971 action film directed by William Friedkin, and another as best supporting actor in Clint Eastwood’s 1992 western, Unforgiven.

Additionally, he is famous for portraying Lex Luthor in late 1970s and 1980s Superman films.

His roles in Francis Ford Coppola’s mystery thriller The Conversation and the historical drama Mississippi Burning, where he starred as an FBI agent alongside Willem Dafoe, solidified his status as a Hollywood legend.

Many, including the Prince of Wales, expressed their sorrow over Hackman’s passing. He described Hackman as a “true genius of film,” bringing each character to life with authenticity and star quality in a post on X.

Morgan Freeman, who starred alongside Hackman in The French film Garde a Vue (Under Suspicion), stated that it was “one of the personal highlights of my career” to work with such an incredibly gifted actor.

The 2000 thriller featured Hackman as wealthy tax attorney Henry Hearst, who is interrogated by Freeman’s character, Captain Victor Beneze, regarding the murder of a young girl.

American director Francis Ford Coppola praised Hackman as a “great actor,” highlighting his inspiring and remarkable work.

Coppola both wrote and directed the Oscar-nominated 1974 thriller The Conversation, featuring Hackman as a surveillance expert grappling with a moral dilemma when he suspects a couple he is monitoring might be murdered.

Bill Murray, who appeared with Hackman in the 2001 film The Royal Tenenbaums, described him as a “tough nut” and an “excellent” actor.

Musician Sting remarked on the loss of a legend, while actor and director Clint Eastwood mentioned that Hackman would be “deeply missed.”

Dirty Harry star Eastwood shared the screen with Hackman in the 1997 political action thriller Absolute Power, in which Hackman portrayed a master jewel thief named Luther Whitney.

Hackman married Arakawa, a classical pianist, in 1991. He is survived by his three children—Christopher, Elizabeth Jean, and Leslie Anne—from his previous marriage to Faye Maltese, who passed away in 2017.