EXCLUSIVE: Calls Grow For Authorities to Come Clean Over Circumstances of Gene Hackman and Wife's Double Death — 'His Legacy Should Not Be A Grim Passing and Conspiracy Theories'
Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa's shocking double death is now one of Hollywood's biggest mysteries.
March 20 2025, Updated 11:32 a.m. ET
The estate of Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa are seeking to block the release of autopsy reports – sparking a web of "cover-up" conspiracy theories.
RadarOnline.com is now unravelling the speculation, which has been sent into overdrive as the estate also wants to veto photographs, and other material stemming from the investigation into the couple's deaths.
Hackman and Arakawa died in massively mysterious circumstances.
Julia Peters, who represents the couple's estate, filed a request with a Santa Fe district court to seal the records, citing Hackman's discreet and "exemplary private life" – as well as his family's constitutionally protected right to grieve privately and the gruesome nature of the photographs and body-cam footage of the couple's home from when police discovered their deaths.
While New Mexico law blocks the dissemination of potentially sensitive images of citizens' deaths as well as medical records, the nature of Arakawa's death, her main cause of death was hantavirus, a rare respiratory disease usually transmitted by rats and mice.
This could potentially present a public health concern and details of her passing could be made available under the state's Inspection of Public Records Act.
Our showbiz insider revealed: "Something does not seem right here. If there's nothing to hide and then why should the files be sealed? This looks more about preserving the privacy of two people who are now dead. It is surely in the public interest to know the full facts of this tragic case. It seems like some kind of cover-up.
"There are all sorts of crazed theories floating around on the web, which are too tastless to repeat. Needless to say, they include murder and theories and all sorts of other nonsense.
"But authorities need to step up and reveal the whole truth now so Hackman's legacy isn't the grim circumstances of his and his wife's deaths."
Details regarding 95-year-old Hackman's will have also emerged, with the who died a week after his wife, with heart disease and Alzheimer's the main causes of death, leaving the entirety of his fortune to Arakawa.
But we can reveal 65-year-old Arakawa's will stated if she preceded her husband in death, she would leave the majority of her assets to Hackman.
But Arakawa's papers also contained a clause saying if the two died within 90 days of each other, their fortune would be donated to charity.
Hackman's fortune could now be the subject of a fierce legal battle involving his kids.
While Hackman's three adult children weren't listed as beneficiaries in either will, due to the bizarre nature of the actor and Arakawa's death and New Mexico's community property laws, the Hackman children are in line for the actor's share as his only living heirs.
We have told how questions had arisen concerning the timeline of events leading up to the deaths of Hackman and Arakawa.
RadarOnline.com revealed how Dr. Josiah Child, a medical professional from Cloudberry Health in Santa Fe, has contradicted the initial report from the Santa Fe medical examiner, claiming Arakawa died a week before her husband.
According to Dr. Child, Hackman's wife reached out to his clinic on February 12, a day after the medical examiner stated as the date of her passing. Additionally, she had canceled a prior appointment, citing her husband's poor health as the reason.
The medical examiner had attributed Arakawa death to hantavirus, a rare respiratory disease transmitted by rodents, on February 11.
Haclman died suffering dementia so severe it's suspected he had no idea his wife was lying dead days before his passing.
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They claimed she died a week before the Mississippi Burning actor succumbed to heart failure and Alzheimer's disease on February 18.
Dr. Child said: "She called back on the morning of February 12 and spoke to one of our doctors who told her to come in that afternoon.
"We made her an appointment, but she never showed up. She did not show any symptoms of respiratory distress. The appointment wasn't for anything related to hantavirus. We tried calling her a couple of times with no reply."
The couple were found in their Santa Fe home, with Betsy on the bathroom floor surrounded by pills and Gene in a utility room nearby.
Tragically, one of their dogs also died due to starvation and dehydration.
