Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa were found dead alongside one of their three dogs in their shared Santa Fe home earlier this week – an investigation into their deaths continues

Cops are set to quiz Gene Hackman’s three children as they try to discover the actor and his wife’s last movements.

The star is survived by the three children he had with his ex-wife, Faye Maltese: Christopher, 65, Elizabeth, 63, and Leslie, 58. Elizabeth and Leslie were photographed looking sombre a day after the couple’s bodies were discovered – as Leslie revealed she hadn’t spoken to her dad in months.

And police have confirmed they are speaking to “family members” as they try to piece together Gene and his wife Betsy’s final days. The pair were found dead in separate rooms of their New Mexico home earlier this week.

Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza, who gave a press conference on Friday, said that it had been a “challenge” so far to determine the last people the couple spoke to.

Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza held a press conference yesterday ( 
Image:
Getty Images)

It was previously suggested that the maintenance workers may have spoken to the couple last. But it’s now not clear if this was the case or not.

Daughter Leslie, 58, has previously said that she hadn’t been in contact with her dad for a while. He said: “We were close. I hadn’t talked to them for a couple of months, but everything was normal and everything was good.” Her sister, Elizabeth Jean, 62, previously said the family believed that toxic fumes led to the couple’s deaths. But this has been ruled out after a postmortem.

Cops also believe that two cell phones found at the property could hold a vital key too. They have taken them away to be analysed and may have to draft in external forensic experts to crack them.

Gene had two daughters and a son ( 
Image:
Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)

A caretaker made the call to Santa Fe police, leading the cops to find Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa already dead ( 
Image:
Getty Images)
At a press conference on Friday, it emerged that Hackman likely died about nine days before his body was discovered by authorities.

Mendoza confirmed the last event noted on Hackman’s pacemaker was February 17. When asked if this could be the day Hackman died, Mendoza noted that was a “very good assumption.”

“According to the pathologist, I think that is a very good assumption that that was his last day of life,” Mendoza said. They were unable to establish if Hackman or his wife died first. Both were found “mummified”, as well as the deceased dog in the closet of the bathroom.

The pair were last publicly photographed together on March 28, 2024. Hackman was spotted holding onto his wife’s arm, while holding onto a walking cane in his other hand. Gene and his wife Betsy lived a reclusive life with their three dogs – one of which was found dead with the couple at the Santa Fe home.

Despite Gene and Betsy’s reclusive lifestyle, the Oscar-winning actor was said to have played a “vital role” in his local community. Gene was on the board of trustees of the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum – with a spokesperson for the museum saying the star played “a vital role in shaping the Museum’s early years,” when it operated from 1997 to 2004. The statement declared: “Beyond his role as a Trustee, Gene contributed to the Museum in meaningful ways, notably as the narrator of the Perry Miller Adato film, Georgia O’Keeffe: A Life in Art. The Museum is grateful for his commitment to sharing Georgia O’Keeffe’s legacy and for their deep support of the arts and cultural initiatives.”