After Gene Hackman, his wife Betsy Arakawa and their dog were found dead in their home Feb. 26, his daughter Leslie Anne Allen shared an update on the ongoing investigations.
Gene Hackman’s daughter Leslie Anne Allen is searching for answers.
Hours after the two-time Oscar winner was found dead at 95 in his Santa Fe, New Mexico, home alongside his wife Betsy Arakawa, 65, and one of their dogs, Leslie—the youngest of his three kids with ex-wife Faye Maltese—shared an update on the investigation surrounding their unexplained deaths.
“I think I’m very anxious to find out what happened and I just don’t know how long they had been deceased,” Leslie, 58, told Us Weekly Feb. 27. “[The authorities] don’t know yet either.”
Shortly after the news broke, Santa Fe public information officer Denise Womack Avila shared, in a statement to NBC News, that authorities were called to the couple’s residence around 1:45 p.m. on Feb. 26 after a neighbor called requesting a welfare check. Gene—also dad to Christopher, 65, and daughter Elizabeth, 63—and Betsy’s bodies were identified the next day.
It was later confirmed that the couple had been dead “for at least a day” before being found. Indeed, an affidavit obtained by NBC News stated that Betsy’s body—which was found in the home’s bathroom next to a space heater and an open bottle of pills—was already showing visual indications of decomposition including “mummified” body parts.
“The female decedant showed obvious signs of death, body decomposition, bloating in her face,” the affidavit stated, “and mumification in both hands and feet.”
The Superman actor—who was discovered in the kitchen area of the house and suspected to have “suddenly fallen”—was also found in a similar state.
While no foul play was suspected at the time, authorities have deemed “the circumstances surrounding the death of the two deceased individuals to be suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation.”
Donaldson Collection/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
And while the investigations are active and ongoing, many of Gene’s former collaborators joined his friends and family in expressing their grief, paying tribute to the acting legend on social media. Among those was Francis Ford Coppola, who directed Gene in the 1974 film The Conversation.
“The loss of a great artist, always cause for both mourning and celebration: Gene Hackman a great actor, inspiring and magnificent in his work and complexity,” Francis wrote Feb. 27 alongside a photo of him and Gene on Instagram. “I mourn his loss, and celebrate his existence and contribution.”
Many other Hollywood stars—including Antonio Banderas, George Takei and Edgar Wright—echoed the director’s sentiments as well. Keep reading to see all the celebrity tributes for Gene.
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