Harrowing 911 call reveals moment Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa were found: 'Damn, damn, damn'

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Police have released audio from the 911 call placed by one of the maintenance workers who discovered the bodies of Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, this week.

The two-time Oscar winner, who was known for roles in Unforgiven, Hoosiers, The French Connection, Superman, Enemy of the State, Crimson Tide and numerous other films, was found dead Wednesday at age 95 alongside his classical pianist wife and one of their dogs.

The unidentified caller on the scene at Hackman’s multimillion-dollar New Mexico home described seeing a body on the floor and urged emergency services to send help quickly.

“I think we just found two, one deceased person inside the house,” the caller said on the recording first obtained by TMZ. “I’m the caretaker for the subdivision.”

The dispatcher asked if Hackman and his wife were “awake” and “breathing.”

“I have no idea,” the worker replied as a dog was heard barking in the background. “I’m not inside the house. It’s closed. It’s locked; I can’t go in. But I see, she’s lying down …. They’re not moving. Just send somebody out here really quick!”

The worker could be heard saying, “Damn, damn, damn,” as he became emotional over the phone.

According to a search warrant affidavit, the workers reported that the home’s front door was open when they arrived at the property.

Police said there were no signs of forced entry into the home, and officers “did not observe any indication the residence had been rummaged through or items were taken from inside the residence.”

Hackman’s body was found in what was “believed to be a mud room … wearing gray sweat pants, a blue in colour long-sleeve T-shirt, brown slippers, and walking cane.”

Based on his positioning, police determined that Hackman had suffered a sudden fall.

His wife, 65-year-old Arakawa, was discovered in a bathroom. An opened orange prescription bottle was observed on the countertop, and pills were strewn around it. A deceased German Shepard was found “in a closet” nearby, with two other dogs found alive on the property.

No foul play was suspected, but according to the search warrant, their deaths were considered “suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation because the reporting party found the front door of the residence unsecured and opened.”

Hackman’s daughter Elizabeth Jean Hackman, 62, speculated to TMZ that the pair may have died as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning.

However, in its warrant, the Santa Fe City Fire Department concluded that there were no signs of a carbon monoxide leak or poisoning.

“The fire department did not locate signs of a carbon monoxide leak or poisoning,” Detective Roy Arndt wrote in the statement, adding: “As of now, there are no signs or evidence indicating there were any problems associated to the pipes in and around the residence.”

In its report, police said Arakawa’s body showed “obvious signs of death, body decomposition, bloating in her face and mumification in both hands and feet.”

Hackman’s body was “similar and consistent with the female decedent.”

There were no “signs or indications of blunt force trauma.”

On Friday, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza told the Today show investigators were trying to put “a timeline together” and said the pair had been dead “for several days and up to a couple of weeks.” 

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In an interview with the Daily Mail, another of Hackman’s three children, daughter Leslie Anne, said her father was “in good health.”

“Despite his age, he was in very good physical condition,” she told the outlet. “He liked to do Pilates and yoga, and he was continuing to do that several times a week.”

But Leslie Anne said it had been some time since she had spoken to her father. “We were close. I hadn’t talked to them for a couple months, but everything was normal and everything was good,” she said.

Doug Lanham, a close friend and former business partner, told TMZ that Arakawa kept Hackman on a “strict diet years ago” and he was only able to “sneak a cheat meal when they were out golfing.”

One of the most prolific actors in Hollywood, Hackman worked with some of the most iconic filmmakers in the last 50 years, including Clint Eastwood, Francis Ford Coppola and Sydney Pollack. He also played Lex Luthor opposite Christopher Reeve in three Superman films and starred alongside such names as Tom Cruise (The Firm), Kevin Costner (No Way Out) and his old friend Dustin Hoffman in 2003’s Runaway Jury.

He retired from acting and moved to New Mexico after co-starring with Ray Romano in the 2004 comedy Welcome to Mooseport.

Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber told NBC News’ Tom Llamas that Hackman got along well with his neighbours and was always “gracious and friendly” and “treated everyone well.”

“He fit in, in a good way,” Webber said. “These are two people who have huge talent, gifts, global reputations, and here in Santa Fe they’re just down-to-earth people and part of the community.”

Postmedia has reached out to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department for additional information on the cause of the couple’s deaths, and as of Friday, autopsy results are still pending.

In an email to Postmedia, Chris Ramirez, a spokesperson for the New Mexico medical investigator’s office, said medical reports “generally take anywhere from 4-6 weeks to generate.” 

In a Friday afternoon press conference, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said Hackman’s pacemaker revealed his “last event” took place on Feb. 17 — 10 days before his body was found — and “both individuals tested negative for carbon monoxide.”

mdaniell@postmedia.com