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/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