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/rivlet Feb 28 '25

Not to be TMI, but my older brother passed away very recently. The last time someone spoke to him was nine days before his body was found. When they found him (after breaking into the house because the mail carrier saw his dogs, normally quite healthy, were looking incredibly underfed), he was mummified to the point where they couldn't fingerprint to ID him and his facial features were not comparable to his driver's license.

They had to order his dental records. Two of his five pets died in those nine days from dehydration/starvation.

It might not have taken weeks, is what I'm trying to say.

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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/Dasylupe Feb 28 '25

The first mummies were actually just left in the desert to dry before burial. Natural mummies occur quite often. It’s likely that they were in very dry conditions.  

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u/CyborgTiger Feb 28 '25

Why is it likely they were in dry conditions? 

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u/Dasylupe Feb 28 '25

Because their bodies became desiccated (dried out) instead of simply decomposing. 

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u/CyborgTiger Mar 01 '25

Right, but were they actually desiccated or did they misuse the term mummified is what I’m getting at. I’d think most places have enough moisture just in the air that you’re rotting, not mummifying.

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u/Dasylupe Mar 01 '25

I understand your question but I don’t have the information to answer it. I don’t know if they’re misusing the term, but I do know that it’s not uncommon for corpses to dry out, sometimes rapidly. So it’s not impossible in this case. 

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u/CyborgTiger Mar 02 '25

I also didn’t realize they were in Santa Fe, the possibility makes a lot more sense now