Gene Hackman’s Pacemaker Reveals His ‘Last Event’ Was Recorded on Feb. 17, Santa Fe Sheriff Says

Gene Hackman’s pacemaker revealed his “last event” took place on Feb. 17, nine days before his body was discovered with wife Betsy Arakawa on Wednesday, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza revealed in a Friday press conference.

“Both individuals tested negative for carbon monoxide. An initial interrogation was conducted of Mr. Hackman pacemaker. This revealed that his last event was recorded on Feb. 17, 2025,” Mendoza said, citing the pathologist from the New Mexico office of the medical investigator.

“Collected from the residence from this search warrant: there were two green in color cell phones, two bottles of medication, one bottle of over-the-counter Tylenol, My Request medical records and a 2025 monthly planner calendar,” he added. “Those items were secured from the residents for evidentiary purposes.

“Initial findings noted no external trauma to either individual. The manner and cause of death has not been determined,” Mendoza further noted. “The official results of the autopsy and toxicology reports are pending.”

The update comes hours after the Sheriff and the fire chief provided additional details on the case to “Today” regarding the timeline of the couple’s decomposition.

“It’s very difficult to put a timeline together, even with the help of the office of the medical investigator,” Mendoza said Friday morning. “Just based on their body and other evidence on the body, it looks — it appears several days, possibly even up to a couple weeks.”

“That was a home with natural gas in it, so it could have [dissipated]. There’s a lot unanswered there,” Moya added of not ruling out carbon monoxide poisoning as their cause of death. “When we arrived, we made sure that our people, as well as the Sheriff’s, were safe and there was nothing that we found. We also went back again yesterday to do another round of searches with the Sheriff’s Department and we didn’t find anything as well.”

While the bodies were discovered on Wednesday, news of the their deaths was not made public until early Thursday. At the time, Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office media coordinator Denise Womack-Avila insisted there was “no foul play” suspected despite the search warrant affidavit describing things at the scene as “suspicious.”

“On Feb. 26, at approximately 1:45 p.m., Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Deputies were dispatched to an address on Old Sunset Trail in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where Gene Hackman, 95, and his wife Betsy Arakawa, 64, and a dog were found deceased. The bodies of Mr. Hackman and his wife were located in separate rooms,” she told TheWrap in a statement. “Foul play is not currently suspected as a factor in those deaths. Cause of death will be determined by the Office of the Medical Investigator.”

Per the above affidavit, detectives initially located the bodies with signs of decomposition and “mummification in both hands and feet,” though there were no observable wounds otherwise. There were also scattered prescription pills found on a bathroom counter near Arakawa’s body and a nearby space heater.

Additionally, Hackman’s daughters and granddaughter told TheWrap, “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy. He was loved and admired by millions around the world for his brilliant acting career, but to us he was always just Dad and Grandpa. We will miss him sorely and are devastated by the loss.”

The two-time Oscar winner, his wife of 34 years and their German Shepherd were found dead after a home maintenance worker called in a welfare check. Two other dogs were found alive on the property. The pair’s autopsy and toxicology reports are pending and the investigation remains open.

The post Gene Hackman’s Pacemaker Reveals His ‘Last Event’ Was Recorded on Feb. 17, Santa Fe Sheriff Says appeared first on TheWrap.