Gene Hackman’s $6M Santa Fe mansion is snapped up in just 11 days… one year after he died in the home with his wife
Gene Hackman’s Santa Fe compound is on the road to being sold after 11 days on the market.
The New Mexico property has been listed as ‘pending’ by the brokerage house Sotheby’s International Realty; that means the seller has accepted a buyer’s offer, and they are working through the final steps like inspections, appraisals, and loan approvals before the sale officially closes.
Tara S Earley – who works with Ricky Allen at Sotheby’s – confirmed to Daily Mail that the property is indeed ‘pending.’
Hackman and Arakawa – who were 30 years apart in age – were found dead inside the home on Old Sunset Trail, Hyde Park, in February last year after passing away on January 26.
The sprawling Southwestern-style four-bedroom ranch sitting on a picturesque hill could fetch even more than the listing price, an agent has claimed.
Gene Hackman’s Santa Fe compound appears to have been snapped up after 11 days on the market. The New Mexico property has been listed as ‘pending’ by the brokerage house Sotheby’s International Realty; that means an offer has been made; seen in 1994
Tara S Earley – who works with Ricky Allen at Sotheby’s – confirmed to Daily Mail that the property is indeed ‘pending’
‘The home is big, stylish and has great bones so there will be interest,’ an agent at Coldwell Banker told the Daily Mail before it was listed. ‘Even though two people passed away in the house, there will still be plenty of offers.’
The expert added that whenever a celebrity is linked to a property – even if they died inside it – the price is driven up.
The home is also desirable because it’s within a gated community despite being on six acres of land, and offers generous views of the Rocky Mountains.
Extraordinary footage released by the Santa Fe County Sheriff showed a heartbroken German shepherd watching over the couple’s bodies as deputies walked inside.
The house, which was extensively remodeled in 1990, was cluttered with clothing, boxes, diapers and even dog cages when the couple died. It was also infested with rats.
Their Pueblo revival home is far from Hollywood in an area renowned as a retreat for artists and celebrities wanting to escape the spotlight.
The home was featured in a 1990 Architectural Digest article.
The actor and Arakawa were found dead on February 26 last year, in their Santa Fe home.
Hackman, 95, died of heart disease with complications from Alzheimer’s disease about a week after his wife, 65, died of hantavirus.
Some of Arakawa’s last emails, phone calls and internet searches appeared to show she was looking for information on flu-like symptoms and breathing techniques.
The documents and video recordings were released after a court ruled that most of them should be public records but ordered that the couple’s bodies be blocked from view.
The couple was found dead inside the home on Old Sunset Trail, Hyde Park, in February last year after passing away on January 26
Arakawa’s computer showed that between February 8 and the morning of February 12, she was researching medical conditions related to COVID-19 and flu-like symptoms, according to the records released by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.
In an email to her masseuse, she said Hackman woke up February 11 with flu or cold-like symptoms and she would have to reschedule her appointment for the next day.
Her search history on the morning of February 12 showed she was looking into a medical concierge service in Santa Fe. A call with them lasted less than two minutes, and she missed a return call later that afternoon, according to investigators.
The sprawling Southwestern-style four-bedroom ranch sitting on a picturesque hill could fetch even more than the listing price, an agent has claimed
Redacted police body camera images showed officers searching the home and finding no signs of forced entry or anything out of the ordinary in the home’s contents.
Investigators noted prescription medication on a bathroom counter as one of the couple’s dogs barked in the background.
Initially, all photos, video and documents from the investigation were sealed by a temporary court order.
Hackman’s estate and Arakawa’s mother asked a judge to extend that order, citing privacy concerns. The Associated Press, CBS News and CBS Studios intervened in the matter, saying in court filings that they would not disseminate images of the couple’s bodies.
The court cleared the way for the release of investigative records as long as there were no videos or photos of the couple’s bodies.
Both were ruled to be from natural causes, chief medical examiner Dr Heather Jarrell said. Hackman’s death was tied to heart disease, with Alzheimer´s disease contributing. Authorities linked Arakawa’s death to hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare but potentially fatal disease spread by the droppings of infected rodents.
Hackman’s pacemaker showed an abnormal heart rhythm on February 18 – the day he likely died, Jarrell said.
While there’s no reliable way to know for sure when each died, all signs point to their deaths coming a week apart, Jarrell said.
Any time a celebrity is linked to a property, it drives up prices, the expert said
The pad in unusual as it is located in a coveted gated community that has generous views of the lush flora and fauna that makes the neighborhood so appealing
The house was cluttered with clothing, boxes and diapers when the couple died
Hackman’s body was found in the home’s entryway, and Arakawa’s body was found in a bathroom. Thyroid medication pills prescribed to Arakawa were found nearby and weren´t listed as contributing to her death, Jarrell said.
Investigators earlier retrieved personal items from the home, including a monthly planner and two cellphones.
One of the couple’s three dogs was found dead in a crate near Arakawa. Authorities initially misidentified the breed.
The virus typically is reported in spring and summer, often when people are exposed to mouse droppings in homes, sheds or poorly ventilated areas. It can cause a severe, sometimes deadly lung infection called hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
An environmental assessment of the Hackman property found rodent feces in several outbuildings and live traps on the property, according to a New Mexico Department of Health report. The inside of the home was clean, with no evidence of rodent activity.
Nestled among the piñon and juniper hills overlooking Santa Fe, the Hackman home is not unlike others in the area, as mice are common within the surrounding landscape.
This was the first confirmed case of hantavirus in New Mexico this year. Hantavirus does not spread between people.
Initial symptoms can include fatigue, fever and muscle aches. As the disease progresses, people can experience coughing, shortness of breath or tightness in the chest as the lungs fill with fluid, according to the CDC. About a third of people who develop respiratory symptoms can die, the agency said.
The French Connection actor’s home on Old Sunset Trail in bucolic Hyde Park
Gene and his wife Betsy were found dead inside the home in February 2025
Hackman appeared in a broad range of movie roles dating back to 1961, when he debuted in Mad Dog Coll.
His roles included playing the arch nemesis Lex Luthor in the Superman movies and a coach finding redemption in the sentimental favorite Hoosiers.
He was a five-time Oscar nominee who won best actor in a leading role for The French Connection in 1972 and best actor in a supporting role for Unforgiven two decades later. He retired in the early 2000s.
Arakawa was born in Hawaii in December 1959 and grew up in Honolulu.
She studied piano and, as an 11-year-old sixth grader, performed in youth concerts in front of thousands of students at the Honolulu International Center Concert Hall, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported in 1971.
Police photos showed the home was remodeled and in decent shape, even if it was cluttered
It has also been claimed that some of the property was infested with rats
A pond was empty and bushes were overgrown
She attended the University of Southern California and was a cheerleader for the Aztecs, a professional soccer team in the North American Soccer League.
The artist also worked as a production assistant on the television game show Card Sharks, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported in 1981.
Arakawa met Hackman while working part-time at a California gym in the mid-1980s.
They soon moved in together and relocated to Santa Fe by the end of the decade. Arakawa was vice president of Pandora’s, a home decor and furnishing store in Santa Fe, according to New Mexico business records.
