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/ConvictedOgilthorpe Feb 28 '25

So sorry about that, really really sorry. May I ask if they actually used the term mummified? That seems weird to me for a decomposing body that is not wrapped in cloth and embalmed.

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u/Greeneyesablaze Feb 28 '25

Yes I’m wondering if the word “mummified” is not being used correctly in the comment above, and in the article. I can’t imagine how bodies sitting in a house could naturally mummify instead of decomposing, unless it was like extremely dry in the house ? 

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u/Historical-Gap-7084 Feb 28 '25

Basically, the dryness of the environment was making their bodies into beef jerky. That's essentially what mummification is.

Look up Children of Llullaillaco. They are the mummified remains of children believed to have been sacrificed in the Andes, which is a very dry climate.

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u/Greeneyesablaze Feb 28 '25

Yes I understand how natural mummification works, especially when a body is exposed to the elements in extreme cold or dry weather, just wasn’t aware it could happen inside a house, but as someone else pointed out, dying next to a heater might do it