Gene Hackman bodycam footage released as witness exclaims ‘something’s not right’

Bodycam footage of cops arriving at Gene Hackman’s home has come to light, only adding to the mystery surrounding the actor’s tragic death.

Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found dead along with one of their dogs at their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on February 26.

A pathologist later said Hackman died, aged 95, of heart disease—with Alzheimer’s playing a significant role—a week after Arakawa died, aged 65, of a rare infectious disease.

The married couple were first discovered by a contractor, who has now been captured having a conversation with police officers upon their arrival at the scene, trying to figure out what had happened.

Initially, they discussed the possibility of a gas leak; as a handyman explained, ‘something is not right’.

‘That big vent you see on the roof by the front door—that thing’s like that big around, so it’s meant to vent,’ he began telling cops.

Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found dead at their home on February 26 (Picture: MediaPunch/REX/Shutterstock)

‘So I just don’t… and that mechanical room is pretty damn tight. I don’t see carbon monoxide getting…’

Officers then asked whether gas could have leaked through kitchen appliances, to which the handyman responded: ‘It shouldn’t. I don’t see how this is both of them are down like this. Something’s not right.’

A gas leak was found at Hackman’s home in an investigation thorough the New Mexico Gas Company.

However, ‘no significant findings’ were made of gas leaks or carbon monoxide inside the mansion.

The stove burner was one of the minor leaks at ‘0.03% gas in the air,’ but this is not considered a ‘lethal amount’.

Also in the bodycam video, a groundskeeper was clearly emotional after the bodies were found, stating that he had not witnessed anything untoward.

New bodycam footage captures officers arriving at the scene, trying to figure out what happened (Picture: Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office)

‘He’s just a normal person, and to see that, both of them… sorry, I get attached to all these people; they treat me really well,’ he said.

In another clip, a detective can be heard speaking on the phone with Hackman’s daughter, Elizabeth.

The Sante Fe County Sheriff’s Office cop asks whether she would like Zinna, the deceased German Shepherd, cremated. She is also asked whether she wishes to keep the other surviving dog.

‘I’m thinking, cremate the dog and bury it with Betsy. If the dog was wearing a collar, could you save that for me?’, she said.

The new footage comes after an added element of mystery surrounding the deaths of Hackman and his wife arose.

Recently uncovered phone records suggested Arakawa was still alive a full day after authorities initially believed she had died, as preliminary data showed she made multiple calls to a Santa Fe medical centre on February, 12—24 hours after her reported death on February 11.

Hackman and Arakawa’s dog, Zinna (left) also died (Picture: AP)

The revelation contradicted earlier reports and only enhanced the confusion surrounding the timeline of Hackman and Arakawa’s deaths.

‘A total of three calls were made that morning, all to the medical centre. One incoming call was made to Mrs Hackman from the same medical centre that afternoon. That appeared as a missed call on Mrs Hackman’s cell phone,’ it was confirmed.

The finding supported claims made by Dr Josiah Child, a former emergency care specialist who runs Cloudberry Health, who said he had spoken to Arakawa on the phone to schedule an appointment for February 12.

He noted Arakawa later cancelled the appointment, citing concern for her husband’s deteriorating health.

Meanwhile, Hackman’s $80million (£62m) estate could now be inherited by his three children—Christopher, 65, Elizabeth, 62, and 58-year-old Leslie—despite none being named in his will.

It is now uncertain who will inherit Hackman’s fortune of millions, due to his will not being updated for 20 years (Picture: Hector Mata/AFP)

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His will, last updated in 2005, named only Betsy as the beneficiary. But with her death preceding his, the estate may now be subject to intestate succession laws.

California attorney Tre Lovell told the BBC: ‘The estate will actually be probated in accordance with intestate succession laws, and the children would be lawfully next in line to inherit.’

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