Gene Hackman's estranged children travel to Santa Fe as actor, wife laid to rest in private funeral service
The late actor's three children, daughters Elizabeth and Leslie, and son Christopher, traveled to New Mexico for a "small, private memorial," according to People magazine.
Betsy, a classical pianist, died of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, according to New Mexico officials. Gene died from hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer's disease as a significant contributing factor.
Gene Hackman's Home Found To Be Infested With Rodents After Wife Died Of Hantavirus
The Hackmans and one of their dogs were found dead in their Santa Fe home on Feb. 26. The couple had been married for more than 30 years.
Dispatch reports provided by the Santa Fe Sheriff's Department revealed Leslie called for a "welfare check" on her father's home at 5:53 p.m. the day their bodies were discovered.
Read On The Fox News App
Gene Hackman Judge Rules On Death Scene Images After Family Argues 'Grotesque' Pictures Could Cause Trauma
Leslie told dispatch that she received a call "5-10 min ago" saying that her father and his wife were found dead in their house, and she wanted a "welfare check on them but doesn't know the actual address."
The initial 911 call reporting an "unattended death" was received by dispatch at 1:43 p.m., according to records. The medical examiner arrived on scene at 10:53 p.m.
Santa Fe Fire Chief Brian Moya initially told Fox News Digital that authorities believed Gene and Betsy died in a similar timeframe.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff's Department later confirmed during a press conference that Betsy likely died on or around Feb. 11. After reviewing additional phone records, authorities noted that Betsy had used the device to make calls on Feb. 12.
Click Here To Sign Up For The Entertainment Newsletter
Gene likely survived alone in the home for about a week, until he died around Feb. 18, which was the last time activity was recorded on his pacemaker. Authorities assumed this was his last day alive, as the Oscar winner's body was not discovered for nine more days.
WATCH: DETECTIVES INVESTIGATE GENE HACKMAN, BETSY ARAKAWA'S HOME SEEN IN BODYCAM FOOTAGE
Detectives initially described the couple's deaths as "suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation," according to a search warrant affidavit obtained by Fox News Digital.
Officials confirmed that no external trauma was seen on either Gene or Betsy, and New Mexico authorities promptly launched a criminal investigation into their deaths.Original article source: Gene Hackman's estranged children travel to Santa Fe as actor, wife laid to rest in private funeral service
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
‘Happy Face Killer' wants Bryan Kohberger as potential cellmate to solve ‘security issues'
Keith Jesperson, the Happy Face serial killer, wants Bryan Kohberger to spend the rest of his life in the same Oregon prison he's stuck in, claiming it will be safer for the Idaho student murderer. 'His best hope is to be transfered (sic) to here, the max prison in Oregon to be away from those who want to make a name for themselves by killing him,' Jesperson wrote in a note to Keith Rovere, a former prison minister and podcaster who shared it with Fox News Digital. Advertisement 'This prison gets inmates from other states in order to protect them from the drama.' Jesperson, a former truck driver, killed at least eight women in the 1990s and picked up the nickname for his habit of drawing smiley faces on letters to the media and investigators. He's also known to trade letters with other high-profile killers and has claimed to have committed dozens more murders, although authorities don't believe him. 'I will write to the Idaho Department of Corrections to tell them to consider sending Kohberger here to save them the high-risk security issues in protecting him in Idaho,' Jesperson wrote in another note. 5 Keith Jesperson (above), the Happy Face serial killer, wants Bryan Kohberger to spend the rest of his life in the same Oregon prison he's stuck in, claiming it will be safer for the Idaho student murderer. ASSOCIATED PRESS Advertisement Rovere, host of 'The Lighter Side of True Crime,' told Fox News Digital that Kohberger may have a hard time fitting in at any prison because he lacks two key qualities, 'street smarts and prison smarts.' Kohberger's social awkwardness came up repeatedly in his court battles and in the media before a surprise plea deal earlier this month. He avoided the death penalty and will serve life in prison with no chance of parole for the murders of Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20. The Idaho students' killer is expected to spend at least a few weeks in isolation before details of his long-term housing at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution in Kuna are finalized. 5 'His best hope is to be transfered (sic) to here, the max prison in Oregon to be away from those who want to make a name for themselves by killing him,' Jesperson (pictured) wrote in a note to Keith Rovere, a former prison minister and podcaster. ASSOCIATED PRESS Advertisement Jesperson is serving multiple life sentences at the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem, about 475 miles from Kuna. And there's a precedent for his claim. Oregon is part of a group of western states that have an agreement to house prisoners across state lines if there are concerns about safety, special housing needs or overcrowding. Idaho, however, is not part of the pact. Authorities in the state have given no public indication they were even considering such a move. 'The safety and security of staff and the population are a priority in everything IDOC does, including placement,' said Blake Lopez, public information officer for the Idaho Department of Correction. 5 Bryan Kohberger appears at the Ada County Courthouse for his sentencing hearing on July 23, 2025 in Boise, Idaho. Getty Images Advertisement Leading up to the trial, a doctor for the defense diagnosed Kohberger with autism, and his lawyers described quirky personality traits, a staring problem, 'atypical eye contact, including an intense gaze' and his difficulty carrying on normal conversations. He sat rigidly in court for most of his hearings and stared at the victims' relatives as they delivered impact statements this week, occasionally raising a smirk, a half nod or swiveling in his seat only slightly. While asserting that Kohberger has a 'high baseline intelligence,' his lawyers wrote to the court that he 'exhibits slow verbal processing and weaknesses in certain areas of executive functioning, including cognitive flexibility and organizational approach.' Here's the latest coverage on Bryan Kohberger: 'In the general population, he will be singled out right away to be made a target for those who see him as weak for the crimes of that kind of murder,' Jesperson wrote. 'Most likely, Idaho will put him in protective custody like [Jeffrey] Dahmer. But we all know how that ended.' Dahmer was a cannibalistic serial killer and rapist who targeted men and boys between 1978 and 1991. In 1994, a fellow inmate named Christopher Scarver beat him to death in a Wisconsin prison. Dahmer was 34 years old when he died. Kohberger is 30. 5 Dahmer was a cannibalistic serial killer and rapist who targeted men and boys between 1978 and 1991. ASSOCIATED PRESS Scarver told the New York Post in 2015 that he was disgusted by the serial killer and believes guards left them unattended together just to give him an opportunity to kill Dahmer with a metal bar from a weight room. The IDOC said earlier this week that Kohberger would be screened and evaluated before authorities would determine appropriate housing and security measures. Advertisement 'Once in IDOC custody, the person goes through a Reception and Diagnostic Unit (RDU) process to evaluate their needs and determine appropriate housing placement; this process takes 7-14 days,' a spokesperson told Fox News Digital. 'We wait until a person completes RDU to determine their classification, housing placement and privileges.' 5 Kohberger avoided the death penalty and will serve life in prison with no chance of parole for the murders of Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20. KYLE GREEN/POOL/EPA/Shutterstock Kohberger has a high profile. His crime shocked the country and much of the world due to the brutality and randomness and the weeks-long search for a suspect who primarily got caught because he left only one piece of evidence, a knife sheath with his DNA on alongside Mogen's body. Advertisement He had no known connection to the victims, a group of young friends who had done him no wrong. And he's shown no remorse — or any emotion whatsoever — in 2½ years of court appearances. Inmates who have killed women and children are often singled out behind bars, insiders tell Fox News Digital. Three of the four Idaho victims were also asleep during the attack, making it even more cowardly. And Kohberger's social awkwardness is expected to rub other prisoners the wrong way.
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Company in Coldplay 'Kiss Cam' scandal releases Gwyneth Paltrow ad
Gwyneth Paltrow is consciously teaming up with Astronomer. A decade after the "Shakespeare in Love" actress, 52, and Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, 48, announced their "conscious uncoupling," the Oscar winner is lending a hand to the data tech company following a controversy involving its former CEO and HR chief at her ex-husband's concert. In the video released July 25, the "temporary spokesperson" said she was "hired on a very temporary basis to speak on behalf of the 300-plus employees at Astronomer," adding that the company "has gotten a lot of questions over the last few days, and they wanted me to answer the most common ones." Gwyneth Paltrow reveals oddly romantic things Brad Falchuk loves about her Astronomer was thrust into the spotlight earlier this month when a video went viral showing a man and a woman embracing each other before quickly letting go and ducking out of view when a "Kiss Cam" put them in the spotlight at a Coldplay concert at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. "Uh oh, what? Either they're having an affair or they're just very shy," Martin quipped at the July 16 concert. But in the newly released clip, text appeared and said, "OMG! What the actual" before Paltrow answered a different question: "Yes, Astronomer is the best place to run Apache Airflow, we've been thrilled so many people have a newfound interest in data automation." "As for the other questions we've received," Paltrow said cheekily as text popped up on screen, "How is your social media team holding" before she again answered a different question. Martin and Paltrow were married from 2003 to 2016 and share two children: 21-year-old Apple Martin and Moses Martin, 19. "We will now be returning to what we do best: delivering game-changing results for our customers," Paltrow said before the video ended. "Thank you for your interest in Astronomer." Astronomer released a statement July 19, on social media platform X and on job networking site LinkedIn, saying that its former CEO "Andy Byron has tendered his resignation, and the Board of Directors has accepted." "As stated previously, Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding," Astronomer's statement reads. "Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met." The company's HR chief Kristin Cabot has also reportedly resigned, according to CNBC and BBC. Contributing: Anthony Robledo, Jonathan Limehouse
USA Today
6 hours ago
- USA Today
'Happy Gilmore 2': The wildest celebrity cameos, from Travis Kelce to Ken Jennings
Spoiler alert! We're discussing major plot details from the sequel 'Happy Gilmore 2' (streaming now on Netflix). It's all in the hips. Adam Sandler's oafish pro golfer is back on screen for the first time in nearly 30 years, in a new movie that follows the titular Happy Gilmore as he attempts to get back in the game and raise his five kids after the death of wife Virginia (Julie Bowen) in a hurtling golf ball accident. Christopher McDonald, as Happy's nemesis Scooter McGavin, and Ben Stiller, as abusive orderly Hal L, have also returned. Here are some of the most memorable A-list appearances from actors, musicians and athletes throughout the new movie: Join our Watch Party! Sign up to receive USA TODAY's movie and TV recommendations right in your inbox Bad Bunny The Puerto Rican hitmaker continues to make inroads into acting, after 2022's 'Bullet Train' and Darren Aronofsky's 'Caught Stealing' (in theaters Aug. 29). Here, he plays Oscar, a good-natured busboy-turned-caddie for Happy. Benny Safdie After co-directing Sandler in 2019's nail-biting 'Uncut Gems,' Safdie chews the scenery as main antagonist Frank Manatee, the conniving owner of a sports drink company. Travis Kelce The Kansas City Chiefs tight end (and beau to Taylor Swift) makes an amusing cameo as a strict restaurant manager, whom Oscar dreams of covering in honey and feeding to a bear. Please Don't Destroy The 'Saturday Night Live' viral sketch trio appears throughout the movie: Martin Herlihy, who is also the son of the film's co-writer, Tim Herlihy, plays an amateur golfer who mercilessly taunts Happy when he comes out of retirement. Ben Marshall and John Higgins also make blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameos as irreverent, shirtless spectators during a game. Eric André and Margaret Qualley Like Herlihy, the stand-up comedian and 'The Substance' actress pop in as unimpressed putters who fall victim to a fiery golf cart crash at the hands of the inebriated Happy. Eminem, Post Malone and Kid Cudi The rappers all have small but memorable roles in the new film: Eminem, as a bearded heckler named Donald Jr.; Malone, as outlandish golf commentator DJ Omar Gosh; and Cudi, as an FBI agent who apprehends Stiller's character at the end of the movie. Guy Fieri The 'Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives' favorite drops in late in the movie as a golf tournament official who gets the crowd fired up. Haley Joel Osment The Oscar-nominated child star, best known for 'The Sixth Sense' and 'A.I. Artificial Intelligence,' has a substantial supporting role as Happy's cocky golf rival Billy Jenkins. Steve Buscemi The Hollywood veteran has appeared in many of Sandler's movies, including 'The Wedding Singer' and 'Billy Madison,' and has a minor part here as Happy's eccentric neighbor. Ken Jennings The 'Jeopardy!' host plays himself at the start of the film, as a long-retired Happy is distressed to learn that none of the game show's contestants have any idea who he is. Sean Evans from 'Hot Ones' Frank Manatee goes on a promotional tour in support of his sports drink brand, which includes an interview with celebrity wings master Evans, as well as real-life podcasters Bobby Lee and Alix Earle. Marcello Hernández The 'Saturday Night Live' heartthrob, who's beloved for his viral 'Domingo' sketches, is in and out as Oscar's cousin, Esteban.
