The investigation into the deaths of Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa has uncovered new details and there is a decent possibility the deaths could be a result of a devastating accident. During an appearance on Fox Report, forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden explained that Hackman\u2019s pacemaker, which the sheriff noted last recorded activity on Feb. 17, could provide a crucial clue.<\/p>\n
According to an affidavit for a search warrant obtained by NBC News on Feb. 27, Arakawa, 65, was found on the bathroom floor near a space heater and an open bottle of prescription medication, with pills scattered across the countertop. The medications retrieved from the home included an unidentified thyroid medication, the pain reliever Tylenol, and the blood pressure drug Diltiazem, per the report as reported by E!News.<\/p>\n
Yesterday it was discovered, Gene Hackman\u2019s pacemaker was last active on Feb. 17, indicating the Oscar-winning actor may have been deceased for nine days before he and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found in their New Mexico home, the Santa Fe County Sheriff stated Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n
An initial interrogation was conducted of Mr Hackman\u2019s pacemaker. This revealed that his last event was recorded on February 17, 2025, I was advised that a more thorough investigation will be completed,\u201d said Mendoza. \u201cI think that is a very good assumption that that was his last day of life,\u201d Sheriff Adan Mendoza said according to Independent.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat recorded event likely indicates a cardiac arrest triggered by an irregular pulse rate,\u201d he explained. \u201cThe pacemaker monitors the pulse, and when it drops too low, it activates. All of that information is documented in the records Baden told Fox Report.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo the autopsy showed he didn\u2019t have any injury,\u201d Baden added. \u201cThere was no carbon monoxide. And he had \u2014 the most common cause of death in this country \u2014 severe heart disease, coronary artery disease and high blood pressure perhaps, from what\u2019s been released. So that would cause him, having cardiac arrest in the mudroom, to collapse right there.\u201d<\/p>\n
A search warrant affidavit from the Santa Fe Sheriff\u2019s Office, obtained by Fox News Digital, revealed that investigators discovered Hackman\u2019s body on the floor of a mudroom, with a walking cane and sunglasses nearby. The documents suggest detectives believed the actor may have suffered a \u201csudden fall.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Michael Baden offered his theory that Arakawa\u2019s death might have followed Hackman\u2019s, possibly occurring as she attempted to assist him after his pacemaker ceased functioning.<\/p>\n
Baden theorized that in a state of distress, Arakawa may have hurried to the bathroom to retrieve Hackman\u2019s blood pressure medication. In the process, she could have collapsed, scattering the pills and knocking over the space heater as she fell.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe may have struck her head on the way down and had some internal injury to the brain that doesn\u2019t show up on the outside or bleeding in the inside of the brain,\u201d Baden said. \u201cOr that she may also, at 65, had severe heart disease and excitement can cause a trigger to the cardiac rhythm causing death under those circumstances. I think the first, that striking her head would be more common.\u201d<\/p>\n