Forensic Specialist Weighs in on ‘Unusual’ Circumstances Surrounding Gene Hackman and Wife’s Cause of Death

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’s pacemaker, which the sheriff noted last recorded activity on Feb. 17, could provide a crucial clue.

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.

Yesterday it was discovered, Gene Hackman’s 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.

“An initial interrogation was conducted of Mr Hackman’s pacemaker. This revealed that his last event was recorded on February 17, 2025, I was advised that a more thorough investigation will be completed,” said Mendoza. “I think that is a very good assumption that that was his last day of life,” Sheriff Adan Mendoza said according to Independent.

“That recorded event likely indicates a cardiac arrest triggered by an irregular pulse rate,” he explained. “The 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.

“So the autopsy showed he didn’t have any injury,” Baden added. “There was no carbon monoxide. And he had — the most common cause of death in this country — severe heart disease, coronary artery disease and high blood pressure perhaps, from what’s been released. So that would cause him, having cardiac arrest in the mudroom, to collapse right there.”