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As New Mexico authorities investigate the deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, their adopted home town of Santa Fe is grappling with the mystery of what happened to the couple.
Hackman, a Hollywood legend with two Academy Awards picked up over a 60-year career, and Arakawa, a classical pianist, had lived in the area for decades and had embraced the close-knit community that is New Mexico’s capital city.
Their deaths at the ages of 95 and 65 sent shockwaves through the area, which is famous for its vibrant art scene, adobe buildings and bright blue skies.
“Everybody is really sad – we hold on to our community here,” Nedret Gürler, a Santa Fe resident for more than three decades, said inside the rug store she helps operate in the city’s downtown. “There’s so much sadness in our world and [this] felt like another bright light dimmed.”
The circumstances around the couple’s deaths have made people uneasy, she said. “There’s something wrong’s about it. We all want answers.”
Those answers may take a while to emerge.
The couple were found on Wednesday afternoon after a maintenance worker, concerned when no one answered the door, contacted neighborhood security, who spotted their bodies through a window and called the police. One of their three dogs was also found dead. They had been dead for “quite a while” before they were found, according to the Santa Fe county sheriff, Adan Mendoza.
They both appeared to have suddenly fallen to the floor in different areas of the house, officials say. Hackman was found near an entryway with a cane nearby, while Arakawa was found in a bathroom with an open prescription bottle and pills scattered on a nearby countertop. The deceased dog was found in a bathroom closet. Two other dogs were found alive, Mendoza said, and were able to come in and out of the house using a pet door. There were no signs of foul play.
“There was no indication of a struggle,” Mendoza said. “There was no indication of anything that was missing from the home or disturbed … you know, that would be indication that there was a crime that had occurred.”
The sheriff said on Friday afternoon that Hackman and Arakawa tested negative for carbon monoxide and that there were no indications of trauma to their bodies. The last recorded activity on Hackman’s pacemaker was on 17 February – Mendoza said it was a “good assumption” that was his last day of life.
Investigators are trying to piece together a timeline around the couple’s death. But officials are waiting for the autopsy and toxicology results, which could take three months or longer, Mendoza said.
Meanwhile, inside coffee shops and art stores in Santa Fe, people ask: what do you think happened?
“Everyone is shocked. None of it matches up,” said Barbara Simpson, a longtime Santa Fe resident who owns an antique shop in the city. “There’s still a lot that has to come out in the investigation.”
Simpson recalled seeing Hackman in the area for many years – he once owned a business near her store. In Santa Fe, he could go about his life without being bothered and was accepted as part of the community, Simpson said.
“People in Santa Fe liked them a lot. They were really involved,” she said.
New Mexico’s state senate held a moment of silence at the state capitol in the historic city after news of their deaths broke, with one lawmaker stating: “We were lucky to call him a New Mexican.”
As residents of Santa Fe, the couple opened local businesses such as an interior design store and invested in restaurants – Hackman even painted the mural that adorns one eatery. The actor served on the board of trustees with the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum for nearly a decade. In a statement, the museum said he played “a vital role in shaping the museum’s early years” and contributed in “meaningful” ways, including narrating a film for the museum.
Santa Fe, the oldest capital city in the US, has long drawn artists as well as famous writers and Hollywood celebrities from Robert Redford to Shirley MacLaine. Simpson, who previously worked in the film industry, said many people become acquainted with the area that way and find they enjoy the small town vibe and cultural scene.
Hackman once said he had become taken “with the excitement and indomitable spirit of this place”.
It’s the light that draws people here, Gürler, a photographer, mused, and then they find a deeply inclusive and welcoming community. Hackman and Arakawa fitted right in, she said.
“He was the kindest man. He would smile at everyone,” she said. “Everyone I’ve talked to since yesterday is genuinely sad.”
For many years, people would see the couple walking around downtown, visiting the library or eating at local restaurants. Some residents have begun sharing stories online about their interactions over the years. One man described how he helped Hackman as a library worker, and how the actor later invited him to join him and Arakawa for dinner. Now the community waits to learn what happened.
“Something is missing. I hope we get closure, but I’m hoping [their] family get closure even if we don’t,” Gürler said.
