Gene Hackman Death Case: Pills Found by Wife Betsy Arakawa’s Body Identified

The investigation into the deaths of Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa has yielded new findings.

After the couple and one of their three dogs were found dead in their New Mexico home Feb. 26, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza offered new details about critical evidence in the case.

Arakawa, 65, was found lying on the bathroom floor with a space heater and an open bottle of prescription medication nearby with pills “scattered on the counter-top,” per an affidavit for the search warrant obtained by NBC News Feb. 27. The medications taken from the home were an unspecified thyroid medication, the painkiller Tylenol and the blood pressure medication Diltiazem, according to the outlet.

Investigators also collected records from MyQuest—an online health lab results portal—as well as a 2025 monthly planner and two green cellphones using the warrant.

Earlier in the day, Mendoza stressed the significance of the pills amid the ongoing investigation, characterizing them as “something of concern.”