Gene Hackman’s daughter requested that police cremate her father’s dog and bury the ashes alongside his wife, according to newly released body cam footage.
In the video obtained by TMZ, Elizabeth Hackman is seen calmly speaking with officers at the family’s Santa Fe, New Mexico home, where the bodies of the 95-year-old actor, his 65-year-old wife Betsy Arakawa, and their kelpie mix, Zinna, were discovered.
She expressed her wish for the dog’s remains to be laid to rest with Arakawa during the somber exchange.
“I’m thinking cremate the dog and bury it with Betsy,” she said. “If the dog was wearing a collar, could you save that for me?”
“I told the officer, “You know whose house this is?” and he said, “I do, it’s Gene Hackman’s”.
Gene Hackman’s daughter requested that police cremate her father’s dog and have the ashes buried alongside his wife after all three were found dead in their Santa Fe, New Mexico home per Daily Mail.
Newly released bodycam footage captures her calmly speaking with officers as she makes the heartbreaking arrangements following the discovery of the late actor, his wife, and their dog.
Meanwhile, Hackman’s surviving dogs—Bear, a 7-year-old German Shepherd, and Nikita, an Akita-shepherd mix—have begun their journey toward healing after enduring weeks in what authorities described as a “house of death.” The two have since been rehomed in separate loving households, DailyMail.com has learned, though the once inseparable companions are now apart following their traumatic ordeal.
The New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator confirmed that Arakawa succumbed to Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare illness primarily transmitted by rodents, according to the CDC. The agency notes that Hantaviruses are not spread from person to person per USA Today.
Hackman, meanwhile, suffered from heart disease and complications related to Alzheimer’s disease. His death was ruled natural, occurring approximately a week after his wife’s passing.
It’s possible that Hackman was unaware of his wife’s passing several days earlier, according to Jarrell. The 95-year-old actor exhibited signs of advanced Alzheimer’s disease, she noted.
