The maintenance worker who found the decomposing bodies of actor Gene Hackman and his pianist wife, Betsy Arakawa, battled back tears and frantically begged for help during the 911 call he placed after making the grisly discovery.
In an audio clip released late Thursday, the caller, whose name was redacted, identifies himself as “the caretaker for Santa Fe Summit,” a gated community on Hyde Park road. He goes on to tell the dispatcher he “found two or one deceased person[s] inside a house,” all while doing the best he can to maintain his composure.
“They’re not moving“, he says, “just send somebody out here really quick.”
AP Photo/Roberto E. Rosales
The house owned by actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa in Santa Fe, N.M. (AP Photo/Roberto E. Rosales)
The dispatcher immediately obliges and places the call on pause so he can connect with the local paramedics. While he does so, the maintenance worker can be heard seemingly sniffling back tears and saying the word “damn” over and over.
When pressed for additional information, the caller says the victims appear to be a “female and a male probably” before again asking the the dispatcher to “send somebody up here really quick.” He adds that he has “no idea” if the pair were “awake” or “breathing” because he’s “not inside the house” with them.
“No, dude, they’re not moving!” he says, before again asking the dispatcher to “send somebody out here really quick!”
The caller then says he will meet first responders at the gate as he cannot provide the specific address. He adds there is a “reason” he does not know it, seemingly hinting at the celebrity status of those who lived there.
When first responders arrived at sprawling property on Wednesday, they found both Hackman and Arakawa dead in separate rooms inside the home, police said.
The two-time Oscar winner was on the floor of the mudroom while his wife was located in the bathroom, lying on her right side near an open prescription bottle. Deputies also found the body of a German Shepherd, one of three dogs the couple shared, in a closet some 10 to 15 feet from Arakawa’s body, which “showed obvious signs of death,” including “decomposition, bloating in her face and mummification in both hands and feet,” according to a search warrant affidavit.
Detectives noted Hackman’s body was similarly deteriorating by the time his remains were found, suggesting the couple had been dead for “quite a while,” police said. The exact timeline of events was still unclear as of Friday, as were their causes of death.
Autopsies conducted on both bodies Thursday did not provide much insight, but sheriff’s officials noted they were still waiting on carbon monoxide and toxicology test results.
With News Wire Services
