The world was stunned when the two-time Oscar-winning star Gene Hackman, 95, was found dead last month along with his 65 year-old wife Betsy Arakawa. Sadly, one of their three dogs was found dead with them.
Now, the contractor who found their bodies is opening up to reveal “heartbreaking” new details about their deaths.
Hackman’s Contractor Speaks Out
Jesse Kesler is a contractor who has worked for Hackman and Arakawa at their Santa Fe, New Mexico mansion for 16 years. He told US Weekly that the couple were “the sweetest people in the world,” adding that Hackman and Arakawa “treated me and my crew and my kids really good.”
It was Kesler who ultimately found the couple on February 26 and called police.
“I was one of the first ones at the scene, me and the security guard,” Kesler recalled. “It was traumatic. It was a heartbreaking experience.”
Kesler last spoke to Arakawa on February 9. Though he declined to reveal any details about their final conversation, he admitted that he was “not aware” that there was anything wrong with her medically at the time.
Kesler typically talked to Arakawa “every three days.” When he didn’t hear from her for weeks, he became concerned and decided to go to the mansion himself to make sure the couple were okay.
Related: Gene Hackman, 95, Was ‘Murdered,’ Hollywood Legend Randy Quaid Alleges
Kesler Discovers Arakawa’s Body
“We were getting pretty worried,” Kesler told Fox News. He added that they “knew something was wrong.”
“We asked law enforcement for advice on how to do it, we started the process of a wellness check,” Kesler explained. “We had to involve a family member to do a wellness check. They had to have an authorization from a family member.”
“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 continued. “And finally, finally, I saw the security guard, and that’s when me and him went in.”
When Kesler finally got onto the property, he couldn’t enter the home because it was locked. Based off of his 911 call, it appears that he looked in a window and caught sight of Arakawa’s body. He then called police, who rushed to the scene.
While officers found Arakawa’s remains right away in a bathroom, they struggled to find Hackman. Eventually, they came upon his body in the mansion’s mudroom with the help of the couple’s two surviving dogs.
Find out more about that in the video below.
Kesler has been left shaken by this experience as he mourns Hackman and Arakawa.
“I was heartbroken. They were the sweetest people in the world to me and others,” he gushed. Kesler went on to say that the couple’s “last photos say it all.”
Hackman and Arakawa had been married for over 30 years. Kesler described them as being a “cute couple.”
“She loved him,” he remembered. “We loved them. I’m heartbroken.”
Listen to a portion of Kesler’s 911 call in the video below.
Arakawa And Hackman’s Deaths
Arakawa died of Hantavirus, a rare flu-like virus transmitted through rodent droppings. She likely passed away on February 12, which was when she made her last phone call. Until this phone call came to light, officials had believed that Arakawa died on February 11, which is when she was last seen on surveillance footage driving back into her gated community.
Full Story: Gene Hackman’s Wife’s Final Phone Call Revealed
Hackman was then in the mansion alone with her body for several days before succumbing to heart failure. It is likely that he died on February 18. Hackman had advanced Alzheimer’s at the time of his death. This means that he likely was either unaware or unable to understand that Arakawa had passed away.
This has clearly been a very traumatic experience for all of Hackman and Arakawa’s loved ones. Please join us in saying a prayer for them!
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