Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy are remembered as ‘very responsible’ pet owners and ‘incredibly kind’ by friends

Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were devoted pet owners before they were recently found dead, alongside one of their beloved dog, at their Santa Fe home.

According to their longtime friends Daniel Lenihan, 79, and his wife Barbara Lenihan, 75, the couple were ‘very responsible’ caregivers to their animals. 

‘They always had German shepherd rescues, and they were really good to their dogs and very responsible dog owners,’ son Aaron Lenihan, 38, told People.

At this time, the Lenihan family does not know where the two surviving canines are, but Aaron noted that their safety would be something Hackman and Arakawa would have been concerned about.

The Lenihans also shared that they believed the pair were in good health and stayed active. 

‘Betsy tried to keep him kind of active and engaged, but they’d do puzzles. They’d do puzzles, and I know that he did,’ Aaron recalled. ‘I think he did yoga daily, I think it might’ve been via Zoom.’

Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were devoted pet owners before they were recently found dead, alongside one of their beloved dog, at their Santa Fe home

Aaron added: ‘I mean, honestly, they were one of the tightest couples I’ve seen. They seemed like real life partners, really, really close to each other, and they were both incredibly kind. And they were reserved, but they were real.’ 

Aaron noted that Arakawa ‘was very protective of’ Hackman ‘in terms of COVID, so she’d always wear a mask when’ out. 

‘She was still trying to keep him as active and engaged and healthy as possible,’ he explained.

On Friday, officials investigating the death of Hackman and his wife confirmed there was no carbon monoxide in their bodies, and that the star actor had been lying dead for nine days until he was found. 

Hackman, 95, and his wife Betsy Arakawa, 64, were found decomposing inside their $3.3 million home in Santa Fe on Wednesday the 26th.

At a press conference on Friday afternoon, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said his pacemaker’s last event was recorded on February 17.

Authorities said it was a very good assumption that February 17 was the last day of his life due to the lack of pacemaker activity thereafter.

Officials also said that there was no trace of carbon monoxide in the bodies of the couple, and that there was still no official cause of death.

According to their longtime friends Daniel Lenihan, 79, and his wife Barbara Lenihan, 75, the couple were ‘very responsible’ caregivers to their animals

‘They always had German shepherd rescues, and they were really good to their dogs and very responsible dog owners,’ son Aaron Lenihan, 38, told People

A search warrant obtained by DailyMail.com revealed Arakawa was found decomposed with bloating on her face and mummification in her hands and feet.

Hackman was found in a mud room off the kitchen. His sunglasses and cane were on the floor and it has been suggested the actor had suffered a fall.

Meanwhile Arakawa was found dead on the bathroom floor. A prescription bottle of pills was open and its contents were strewn across a bathroom counter.

Its unclear what those meds were or who they’d been prescribed for. A space heater was on the floor next to Arakawa and investigators believe it may have fallen around the time of her death.

Officials have refused to speculate further on what may have killed the couple or who died first. Autopsy results are set to take four to six weeks to be published.

Hackman’s daughter Elizabeth had earlier floated a theory that the couple had died from carbon monoxide poisoning, which authorities have now officially quashed.

She told TMZ that the family believed their deaths came about after inhaling the toxic fumes.

Hackman shared three children with his first wife Faye Maltese. He and Arakawa, a classical pianist, had been married for the last three decades.

The gruff-but-beloved Hackman was among the finest actors of his generation, appearing as villains, heroes and antiheroes in dozens of dramas, comedies and action films from the 1960s until his retirement in the early 2000s.

He was a five-time Oscar nominee who won for The French Connection in 1972 and Unforgiven two decades later. His death comes just four days before this year’s ceremony.

Hackman, 95, and his wife Betsy Arakawa, 64, were found decomposing inside their $3.3 million home in Santa Fe on Wednesday the 26th

Hackman met Arakawa, a classically trained pianist who grew up in Hawaii, when she was working part-time at a California gym in the mid-1980s, the New York Times reported in 1989.

They soon moved in together, and by the end of the decade had decamped to Santa Fe.

A naturally private man, Hackman was labelled a recluse as he remained out of the public eye for years on end following his retirement from the movie industry.

In an interview with Empire in 2020, the retired actor revealed he enjoyed watching DVDs that Arakawa rented. He said: ‘We like simple stories that some of the little low-budget films manage to produce.

‘Friday night is set aside for a Comedy Channel marathon, with particular attention paid to Eddie Izzard. The speed of thought is amazing.’