{"id":2412201,"date":"2025-03-10T20:23:02","date_gmt":"2025-03-11T00:23:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/police-admit-crime-scene-mistake-in-gene-hackman-death-case\/"},"modified":"2025-03-10T20:26:28","modified_gmt":"2025-03-11T00:26:28","slug":"police-admit-crime-scene-mistake-in-gene-hackman-death-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/police-admit-crime-scene-mistake-in-gene-hackman-death-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Police Admit Crime Scene Mistake in Gene Hackman Death Case"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fpolice-admit-crime-scene-mistake-in-gene-hackman-death-case%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2412201&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Santa \u2063Fe, New Mexico, Sheriff\u2019s Office \u200brecently corrected its\u2062 earlier report regarding the \u200cdeath \u2062of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-ucf-running-back-shot-and-killed-father-charged\/\" title=\"Former UCF Running Back Shot And Killed, Father Charged\">dog belonging<\/a> \u200cto\u200c actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa. Initially, it was stated that their German shepherd had died, but it was later revealed that a 12-year-old Australian Kelpie mix named Zinna was\u2062 the one that passed away.\u2064 Zinna had a\u2062 close bond with Arakawa and\u2064 was being cared for after a procedure. Another of their dogs,Bear,survived,along with a second dog named nikita. The Sheriff\u2019s Office acknowledged the error, explaining that\u200c deputies are not accustomed to handling dogs. Tragically, Betsy arakawa died from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mouse-tests-positive-for-deadly-hantavirus-in-southern-california\/\" title=\"Mouse Tests Positive for Deadly Hantavirus in Southern California\">hantavirus pulmonary syndrome<\/a>,\u200c likely contracted \u2064from animal droppings, while Hackman \u2064passed away from severe \u200bheart\u200c disease a week later, with his health affected\u200b by \u200bAlzheimer\u2019s. The couple&#8217;s dogs are now being\u200b taken care of by a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">local pet facility<\/a> as legal matters regarding their estate are being resolved.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>The Santa Fe, New Mexico, Sheriff&rsquo;s Office acknowledged last week it misidentified the dog that died along with actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa.<\/p>\n<p>A German shepherd was reported to have been discovered dead.<\/p>\n<p>However, &ldquo;The couple&rsquo;s German shepherd, named Bear, survived along with a second dog named Nikita, but their kelpie mix, Zinna, died, according to Joey Padilla, owner of the Santa Fe Tails pet care facility that is involved in the surviving dogs&rsquo; care,&rdquo; according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/gene-hackman-died-dogs-santa-fe-22d7f6921577f012c87027de8652795d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Associated Press<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The dog that passed away &ldquo;was always attached to Betsy at the hip and it was a beautiful relationship,&rdquo; Padilla said in a statement to the outlet last week.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Zinna went from being a returned shelter dog to this incredible companion under Betsy&rsquo;s hand.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">USA TODAY learned the dog that perished in the Hackman home was actually Zinna, a 12-year-old reddish Australian Kelpie mixed-breed who had once trained in agility skills to compete at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/hP1gPbeZA5\">https:\/\/t.co\/hP1gPbeZA5<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Teri (@WomenInTheBurbs) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WomenInTheBurbs\/status\/1897370103697830270?\">March 5, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Zinna was in a closed crate in the bathroom closet where Arakawa, 65, was found.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-makes-misleading-claims-about-economy-in-minn\/\" title=\"Biden makes misleading claims about economy in Minn.\">dog recently<\/a> had a procedure performed, which could be the reason the animal was in the crate, the <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/03\/07\/us-news\/gene-hackman-wifes-cause-of-death-revealed-as-sheriff-reveals-possible-timeline\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">New York Post<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n<p>The 12-year-old Zinna had been trained in agility skills with an eye toward competing in the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/entertainment\/movies\/2025\/03\/03\/sheriff-gene-hackman-dead-dog-misidentified\/81174682007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">USA Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>When Padilla arrived on scene to retrieve the dogs on Feb. 26 after Hackman and Arakawa were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/gene-hackmans-utility-company-speaks-investigation-details-deepen-mystery\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">discovered<\/a> dead, he found Bear 10 to 12 feet from Arakawa&rsquo;s body while Nikita was running around the backyard.<\/p>\n<p>Padilla is caring for the dogs as lawyers sort through the couple&rsquo;s will to see if there were any instructions regarding the animals.<\/p>\n<p>Santa Fe County Sheriff&rsquo;s Office spokeswoman Denise Womack-Avila acknowledged that deputies misidentified which of the three dogs had died.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Our deputies do not deal with canines on a daily basis,&rdquo; she explained.<\/p>\n<p>On Friday, the New Mexico Medical Examiner&rsquo;s Office <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/one-worst-deaths-possible-hackman-wifes-causes-death-confirmed-grisly-revelation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">released its findings<\/a> regarding the causes of death for Arakawa and Hackman.<\/p>\n<p>New Mexico Chief Medical Investigator Dr. Heather Jarrell told reporters that Arakawa died about Feb. 11 from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a flu-like disease that spreads from animals to humans. She likely contracted the infection from mouse droppings.<\/p>\n<p>The 95-year-old Hackman&rsquo;s cause of death was &ldquo;severe heart disease,&rdquo; with Alzheimer&rsquo;s as a &ldquo;significant contributory factor.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">New Mexico Chief Medical Examiner, Heather Jarrell, MD gave an update on the results of post-mortem investigations carried out following the deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Jarrell said that Hackman&rsquo;s wife, Betsy Arakawa, died from Hantavirus Pulmonary&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/vPZ0tniMIh\">pic.twitter.com\/vPZ0tniMIh<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Denn Dunham (@DennD68) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DennD68\/status\/1898142785288749270?\">March 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Without Arakawa as his caretaker, Hackman lived for about a week. There was no food found in his stomach during the autopsy. He is thought to have died Feb. 18, the last day activity was recorded on his pacemaker.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Santa Fe, New Mexico, Sheriff\u2019s Office admitted last week that they incorrectly identified the dog that died alongside actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa. Initially, a German shepherd was reported as deceased. However, it was revealed that their German shepherd named Bear survived along with another dog named Nikita, while their kelpie mix Zinna passed away. Joey Padilla from Santa Fe Tails pet care facility stated that Zinna had a close bond with Betsy and transformed from a shelter return into an amazing companion under her care. The deceased dog was actually 12-year-old Zinna, who had previously trained for agility competitions at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. She was found in a crate in the bathroom closet where Arakawa was located; she may have been crated due to a recent procedure. When Padilla arrived on February 26 to collect the dogs after Hackman and Arakawa were found dead, he discovered Bear nearby and Nikita playing in the yard. The sheriff&#8217;s office later acknowledged their mistake regarding which dog had died since deputies are not accustomed to handling canines regularly.<\/p>\n<p>On Friday, findings from the New Mexico Medical Examiner\u2019s Office were released concerning Hackman and Arakawa&#8217;s deaths. Chief Medical Investigator Dr. Heather Jarrell reported that Arakawa likely died around February 11 from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome contracted through mouse droppings. Hackman&#8217;s cause of death was attributed to severe heart disease compounded by Alzheimer\u2019s disease as a significant factor.<\/p>\n<p>After losing his caretaker, Hackman lived for about a week without food before passing away on February 18\u2014the last day his pacemaker recorded activity<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2412202,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Hackman.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[36238,48277,51213,3976,51903],"class_list":["post-2412201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-celebrity-news","tag-crime-scene","tag-gene-hackman","tag-investigation","tag-police-mistake"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Hackman.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2412201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2412201"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2412201\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2412209,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2412201\/revisions\/2412209"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2412202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2412201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2412201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2412201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}