1425 Old Sunset Trail, Sante Fe, NM 87501
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Author: Jewls Krueger
On the afternoon of February 26, 2025, two maintenance workers arrived at the gated, secluded Santa Fe, New Mexico home of legendary actor Gene Hackman to perform routine work and made a tragic discovery. Through a window they could see Hackman's wife, classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, lying motionless on the floor. They called 911.
Santa Fe County Sheriff's deputies arrived to find Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 65, both dead inside the home, along with one of their three dogs. Investigators eventually determined that Arakawa had died approximately one week before Hackman from a rare rodent-borne illness called hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, leaving the actor, who suffered from advanced Alzheimer's disease, alone in the home until his own death from heart disease.
Gene Hackman in 1987 - Public Domain
Eugene Allen Hackman was born January 30, 1930 in San Bernardino, California. After a stint in the U.S. Marine Corps and years of struggling as an actor in New York, he broke through in the late 1960s with his Oscar nominated performance in "Bonnie and Clyde." He went on to win two Academy Awards, for "The French Connection" in 1972 and "Unforgiven" in 1993, and starred in dozens of acclaimed films including "The Conversation," "Mississippi Burning," "Hoosiers," "Crimson Tide," and "The Royal Tenenbaums."
Hackman officially retired from acting in 2004 after a long and prolific career. In retirement, he focused on writing, eventually publishing several historical novels.
Betsy Arakawa was born December 15, 1959 in Hawaii. She was a classical pianist who had studied at the University of Southern California. She met Hackman in the mid 1980s when she was working part time at a California gym. They married in 1991. The couple were intensely private and largely avoided the public eye after Hackman's retirement, splitting their time between Santa Fe and travels abroad.
The Hackmans had lived in Santa Fe since the late 1980s. Their primary home was a roughly 9,000 square foot adobe style estate tucked into the Sangre de Cristo foothills inside a private gated community called the Summit. The 50+ acre property included multiple outbuildings and casitas in addition to the main home.
Hackman had become heavily involved in the local Santa Fe art scene during his retirement, and Arakawa managed much of their day to day life as Hackman's health declined.
On February 26, 2025, two maintenance workers arrived at the property for scheduled work. Unable to make contact with the homeowners, one of the workers looked through a window and saw Arakawa lying on the floor of a bathroom. They immediately called 911.
Santa Fe County Sheriff's deputies entered the home and discovered the bodies. Arakawa was in the bathroom, with scattered pills on a nearby countertop and a space heater that had fallen near her body. Hackman's body was found in a mudroom near the kitchen, with his cane and sunglasses nearby. One of the couple's three dogs, a kelpie mix named Zinna, was found dead in a crate near Arakawa. Their two other dogs were found alive on the property.
Because the deaths involved a famous actor, his wife, and a dog all found in a remote home with no immediate cause of death, investigators initially treated the scene as suspicious. Carbon monoxide poisoning was quickly ruled out. Toxicology tests came back negative for foul play. Investigators eventually pieced together the timeline using cell phone records, pacemaker data, and electronic communications.
Further Reading
On March 7, 2025, New Mexico Chief Medical Investigator Dr. Heather Jarrell publicly announced the cause of death for both. Arakawa had died of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare illness contracted from contact with the urine, droppings, or saliva of infected rodents. Her last electronic communication was on the morning of February 12, 2025, and investigators believed she died on or around that date. Her internet search history showed she had spent her final days researching flu like symptoms and breathing difficulties.
Hackman died of hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer's listed as a significant contributing factor. He tested negative for hantavirus. Pacemaker data showed his last cardiac activity was on February 17, meaning he survived alone in the home for approximately seven days after Arakawa's death. Officials said that due to his advanced Alzheimer's, it was likely he did not understand that his wife had died.
A subsequent environmental assessment by the New Mexico Department of Public Health found evidence of an extensive rodent infestation in eight outbuildings on the property, including live and dead rodents, nests, and droppings. Two of the couple's vehicles also showed signs of rodent activity. The interior of the main home was found to be clean and largely free of rodent evidence.
The home sits inside the private, gated Summit community in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, on the northeast edge of Santa Fe. The 50+ acre estate features an adobe style main house, multiple outbuildings, and panoramic mountain views. The Hackman estate listed the property for sale in late 2025.
The Summit is a private gated neighborhood and is not accessible to the public. The home itself sits well off the road and cannot be seen from outside the gates. Please be respectful of the surrounding residents and the privacy of the Hackman and Arakawa families, stay on public roads at all times, and do not attempt to enter the gated community.
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