Gene Hackman’s contractor Jesse Kesler says he raised concerns about the actor and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, days before their bodies were found in their Santa Fe home on February 26. Kesler, who had worked for the couple for 16 years, claims he tried to organize a wellness check after not hearing from Arakawa for two weeks. “We were getting pretty worried,” Kesler said in an interview.
“We asked law enforcement for advice on how to do it. We started the process of a wellness check. We had to involve a family member to do a wellness check.”
However, Kesler says he could not get through to Hackman’s family despite his efforts.
He decided to visit Hackman and Arakawa himself. “We couldn’t get hold of any family members…We were in the process of getting hold of a family member, and it was taking too long,” he said.
concerns ignored before tragic deaths
“And finally, finally, I saw the security guard, and that’s when me and him went in.”
Hackman’s daughter Leslie said she has never spoken to Kesler and was unaware of anyone looking to perform a wellness check on her father. The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office also said no one contacted them before February 26, when the bodies were discovered. Hackman, 95, died from hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer’s disease as a contributing factor.
Arakawa, 65, died of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare rat-borne respiratory disease. One of their three dogs, which was in a crate recovering from surgery, died of starvation and dehydration. Earlier this week, authorities faced challenges in their investigation after a Santa Fe doctor claimed that Arakawa died one day after police initially believed she did.
The claim, made by Dr. Josiah Child of Cloudberry Health, casts doubt on the timeline of events presented by officials. The tragic event has left many questions unanswered as the investigation continues.
