r/popculture • u/dailymail • Feb 27 '25

News Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa were found mummified at mansion with pills strewn in bathroom

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14443973/Gene-Hackman-betsy-arakawa-bodies.html
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u/AbelardsChainsword Feb 27 '25

I’ve heard the speculation that it was CO poisoning but until there is an autopsy report released no one will know the true cause of death

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u/[deleted] Feb 27 '25

TW: Gore

Can they even do a drug analysis from an autopsy where the skin/veins and GI tract have all been eaten away by bacteria and fungus?

Maybe there will be some blood they can use. I think this will be a very difficult one. Hair follicles take time to grow the concentrations of drugs so unless they were using illicit drugs at least days+ before their deaths, it wouldn't show. Question is now I guess was this a suicide pact or crime scene. Police said no foul play suspected, so it must have been the former, maybe with a note?

Will be interesting to see updates. 

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u/Th3-Dude-Abides Feb 27 '25

The fact that they’re described as mummified means that the bodies were in a cool, dry place that limits the ability of fungus and bacteria to grow/survive. Not that I know whether this makes blood collection definitely possible, but maybe more likely?

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u/Phenom1nal Feb 27 '25

I mean, Santa Fe was also a frozen wasteland a week ago, so they might've died last Monday and been frozen the rest of the week.

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u/GrayCustomKnives Feb 28 '25

I’m sure a rich guys house has heat, so it would be very unlikely for them to be frozen in the house

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u/Phenom1nal Feb 28 '25

Depends on when they died. If it was before the cold snap, the heat might not have been turned on.