Gene Hackman’s health had been declining months before his death on Wednesday, Feb. 26.
On Wednesday, Hackman, his wife, Betsy Arakawa, and their German Shepherd were found dead in their Santa Fe home. Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 65, were found in different parts of the house, according to an affidavit for a search warrant filed by authorities. Two other dogs were found alive on the compound.
On Friday, Feb. 28, the couple’s family friends, married couple Daniel and Barbara Lenihan and their son, Aaron, spoke exclusively to PEOPLE about their friendship with the couple for over thirty years. The family also revealed that Hackman’s health had declined in recent months.
Daniel explained that “in recent times,” Hackman was “essentially kind of home-bound.” Barbara clarified that around a year ago, Hackman had “quit riding his bike through the neighborhood.”
Aaron said, “Betsy tried to keep him kind of active and engaged,” adding that Hackman did puzzles and yoga via Zoom daily. “She was still trying to keep him as active and engaged and healthy as possible,” Aaron said.
Daniel and Barbara noted in the “last couple of months,” the late actor “was really slipping there.”
Barbara also told PEOPLE that “Betsy was in perfect health” and “was so fit.”
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Aaron revealed that “she was very protective of him in terms of COVID, so she’d always wear a mask when we’d see her out.”
He also said that “they were one of the tightest couples I’ve seen.” Adding, “They seemed like real life partners, really, really close to each other, and they were both incredibly kind. And they were reserved, but they were real, [and] a lot of fun.”
“Yes, they did,” Barbara agreed. “Gene was as proud of Betsy as she was of him. She had been a concert pianist. Over at their house, she had a special building, a studio that half of it was her grand pianos [and] another half was Gene’s art studio.”
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Following their deaths, Arakawa was found in the bathroom, next to a space heater and an open bottle of pills, according to the affidavit. The pills were identified as an unspecified thyroid medication, Tylenol and the high blood pressure medication, diltiazem. Her body showed signs of “mummification,” which suggests she had likely been dead for some time.
Hackman’s body showed similar “obvious signs of death.” Sheriff Adan Mendoza told reporters at a press conference on Friday, Feb. 28, that the Oscar-winning actor’s pacemaker was last operational on Monday, Feb. 17, and he had likely been dead for nine days before he was discovered on Wednesday.
It remains unclear as to who died first, and it is “a very hard thing to determine,” Mendoza said.
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Hackman’s family initially believed the couple may have died from carbon monoxide poisoning. But Mendoza said on Friday that they tested negative for the compound, and that the cause of death has been ruled out.
Authorities still do not suspect foul play. Autopsy and toxicology results, expected in the coming weeks, will likely offer more clues.
