Police acknowledge major mistake at crime scene of Gene Hackman as questions about actor’s death grow

The authorities investigating the mysterious deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife have acknowledged making an error in identifying the dog that was discovered deceased with them at their residence.

Gene Hackman, aged 95, and his wife Betsy Arakawa, aged 63, were found lifeless in separate rooms of their $3.8 million home by a caretaker in Santa Fe, New Mexico, at around 1.45 pm on Wednesday.

Initially, law enforcement stated that the couple’s German Shepherd named Bear had died in its kennel within the house. However, it was later revealed that Bear was actually alive and well, staying at a pet daycare facility in Santa Fe along with their other dog, Nikita, a seven-year-old Akita-shepherd mix, as reported by USA Today.

The dog that was actually found dead in the home with the couple was Zinna, their 12-year-old reddish Australian Kelpie mixed breed, Sherry Gaber, a friend of the couple, told the outlet. 

Gaber, an animal chiropractor, was already thrown off by the news of Hackman and Arakawa’s deaths, but when she heard about Bear, she couldn’t wrap her head around it. 

Just five months prior, Gaber said she adjusted Bear, who was happy and healthy. 

‘I can’t handle that image,’ Gaber said, recalling news of Bear’s apparent death.  ‘That’s why this whole thing is so distressing. It just doesn’t add up.’ 

Nikita and Bear are both staying at Santa Fe Tails, a local pet daycare, according to Joey Padilla, the owner of the facility. 

It is unclear how the deceased dog was misidentified, but a spokeswoman with the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office told the outlet she wasn’t aware of the mix-up.  

Cops admitted to misidentifying the wrong dog who was found dead along with Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa on Wednesday. (Pictured: The couple with their previous dogs in 2005) 

Police initially said the couple’s German Shepherd Bear was found deceased in its kennel inside the home, but the pup was actually alive and healthy at a pet daycare center in Santa Fe along with their other dog Nikita

‘Our deputies do not deal with canines on a daily basis and I cannot currently speak to the condition or state of the dog’s body upon discovery,’ Denise Womack-Avila told the outlet. 

Gaber said that although she’s grateful Bear wasn’t the pup that died, ‘it’s still a tragic story.’ 

‘My body’s just shaking right now,’ she continued. 

Hackman was found dead in his mudroom while his wife’s lifeless body was discovered in the bathroom by the front door of their home.  

Two days after the couple were found  police announced that they believe the Oscar-winner died on February 17, after finding that was the day his pacemaker stopped recording his heartbeat.

Police saw no signs of foul play but are also investigating the deaths as potentially suspicious.

The case is shrouded in the kind of intrigue reserved for Hackman’s detective thriller novels and has garnered international attention – with many wondering how their deaths went unnoticed for so long.

Neighbors in their gated private community off a winding canyon road five miles outside of Santa Fe told The New York Times that despite living with the celebrity couple for years, most of them never even caught a glimpse of them.

‘They have a gate, and we have a gate, and we just have never even seen each other,’ said James Everett, who has lived part-time in a house next door for about five years.

Hackman was found dead in his mudroom while his wife’s lifeless body was discovered in the bathroom by the front door of their home

Bud Hamilton lived next door to the couple for about two decades, but said he and his wife had dinner with them only once in 20 years.

 Longtime resident and former president of the homeowner’s association, Harvey Chalker, said Arakawa handled their business and met Hackman once when he bought a pair of hiking shoes from his shop.

‘He wanted to be quiet, he didn’t want to be bothered, and I don’t blame him,’ Chalker said.

Fernando Miranda, a neurologist who has owned a house near the couple since 2018, recalled visiting the neighborhood on February 17 and said it is saddening to know the couple may have died then.

‘We all sort of cherish the fact that we are isolated,’ he said.

Investigators probing their deaths soon found a prescription bottle, surrounded by pills on the countertop in the actor’s home.

Three medications were removed from the home, including Diltiazem, a blood pressure medication; a thyroid medication, and Tylenol, according to a search warrant.

Santa Fe Sheriff Adam Mendoza told the Today Show on Friday that the prescription bottle ‘is something of concern.’

Mendoza said the medication has been passed onto the medical examiner’s office to help them make a cause of death determination. It could be months before the toxicology results come back.

‘We’re looking at that specifically and other medications, of course, that were possibly in the residence,’ he told Today.

‘But we’re hoping [the report] comes sooner than later so we can answer some of these questions and hopefully it’ll help us in our investigation to help determine… the matter and cause of death.’

Police do not suspect foul play, despite the front door being found ‘ajar.’ There were no signs of forced entry into the home.

‘I think I’m pretty confident that there is no foul play just based on the lack of evidence,’ Mendoza later told Today. ‘But, of course, we’re not ruling that out.’

Suspicions that the couple and their pooch died from a gas leak have been ruled out by the Santa Fe Fire Department, according to Chief Brian Moya.

Three medications were removed from the home, including Diltiazem, a blood pressure medication; a thyroid medication, and Tylenol, according to a search warrant. (Pictured: Hackman and Arakawa celebrating the actor’s 94th birthday) 

Officials said that there was no trace of the deadly gas in the bodies of the couple, and that there was still no official cause of death. 

Friends recently told DailyMail.com that the couple  were ‘true animal lovers, known for treating their beloved dogs as if they were their own children.’ 

Investigators have not yet determined a cause of death, however, animal advocates who knew the family say Hackman was a ‘softy’ and he and Betsy were devoted dog owners who ‘would never, ever put them in harm’s way.’   

‘Gene was what I would call a confirmed German Shepherd aficionado. I could not imagine him without a Shepherd,’ Steff Smith, the founder of the Southwest German Shepherd Society in Phoenix, Arizona told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview.

‘He was also a major softy. I recall him shedding tears upon meeting the first dog he adopted from us.’