EXCLUSIVE: Never-Before-Seen Bodycam Footage Reveals Horror Moment Bodies of Gene Hackman and Wife Betsy Arakawa Were Discovered — As Mystery Deepens Over Their Passings
March 28 2025, Published 1:00 p.m. ET
Newly released bodycam footage obtained exclusively by RadarOnline.com reveals the moment Gene Hackman's long-time personal contractor walked in and found the lifeless bodies of the legendary actor and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, inside their home.
Hackman, 95, and 65-year-old Arakawa, were found inside their Santa Fe estate on February 26.
Jesse Kesler, 52, had worked for Hackman for 16 years. He was one of two workers who discovered the movie star and his wife dead in their mansion.
Kesler detailed what he saw to responding sheriff's deputies on the scene. He and a partner were at the home working on a repair, and found it odd they hadn't seen nor heard from the couple for over two weeks.
Hackman and Arakawa were notoriously private people in their compound, which is protected by a guarded entrance before visitors can even approach two additional locked gates closer to the home.
While he was not seen on camera, he could be heard recalling he was hesitant to play detective: "I'm like s---. Am I wrong about all this? Am I gonna get in trouble? Am I gonna show up there with two investigators and a state cop, and they're gonna come out and tell me 'What the hell are you doing here? Jesse? We're sick. We got the flu' or something like that?
"At that point I was like, 'I'm gonna go up and see if I can find the security guard, and ask him about the gate."
Kesler found the bodies of Hackman and Arakawa.
Kesler explained that when he finally made it up to the secluded home, he knew right away something wasn't right.
He continued: "We go to the main entry door – It's locked. It's never locked. And the dogs are barking at us the whole time. The dogs are barking (at one specific spot) and Ron (the couple's security guard) said 'Well, let's walk over there. Let's see if we see someone over there like, looking down."
At this point in the audio, Kesler became emotional, and could be heard tearing up, as he revealed the exact moment he entered the bathroom and found Arakawa.
"I know that was Betsy's bathroom. We're walking around there, and that's when we saw her. And then I I told Ron, 'Call somebody, we gotta call somebody.'
"And so I called Paul (a friend), and I told Paul: 'I just found her. She's gone.'"
The personal contractor found Arakawa in her kitchen.
As RadarOnline.com has reported, Hackman's secret and reclusive lifestyle might have inadvertently led to his shocking death.
An investigation concluded Arakawa likely passed away Feb. 11 from a rare rodent disease called hantavirus pulmonary syndrome.
The classical pianist had spent her last years serving as the primary caretaker for Hackman, who was ravaged by Alzheimer's disease and high blood pressure. It's very likely that after she passed, dementia-stricken Hackman could have unknowingly shuffled aimlessly around his house until his eventual death on Feb. 17.
A family friend said: "It's just gut-wrenching to know that Gene lay dead in the entryway for more than two weeks before either of them were found."
Kesler teared up as he recalled the discovery.
Hackman was speculated to have been wracked with confusion and despair after his wife's unexpected death, and was likely crying for help during his own final days, according to investigators.
Sources said the Superman star's heart pills were found scattered on a counter near Arakawa. The autopsy found Hackman, while hydrated, had no food in his stomach.
Renowned longevity expert Dr. Gabe Mirkin, who did not treat the couple, suggested: "Mr. Hackman may have been trying to take his medication, but didn't know how.
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Questions still surround their deaths.
"He likely didn't know, or was unable to process, that his wife had died. A demented person just cannot recognize things and the situation they are in. And he probably couldn't eat because food had been given to him and he was no longer able to do things for himself."
Mirkin admitted the the story could have had a different outcome: "This is the danger of having only one caregiver. Even with his health problems, if Mr. Hackman had been institutionalized – or at least had a professional assisted living caregiver – he may well have lived to be 100."
