Gene Hackman 911 caller pursued ‘wellness check’ before discovering couple dead
Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa Hackman hadn’t been heard from in weeks when Jesse Kesler, owner of MudCity Builders, made the decision to alert law enforcement officials.
Kesler had stopped by the Hackmans’ Santa Fe property unplanned on Feb. 26 because he hadn’t heard from Betsy in two weeks, a stark contrast to their “every three days” communications Kesler was used to.
“We were getting pretty worried,” Kesler exclusively told Fox News Digital. “We knew something was wrong.”
GENE HACKMAN DEATH: COMPLETE COVERAGE
Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa Hackman were found dead in their Santa Fe home on Feb. 26. (Donaldson Collection/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
“We asked law enforcement for advice on how to do it. We started the process of a wellness check,” Kesler said. “We had to involve a family member to do a wellness check. They had to have an authorization from a family member.”
He added, “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. And finally, finally, I saw the security guard, and that’s when me and him went in.”
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In the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Department search warrant affidavit obtained by Fox News Digital, Kesler and maintenance worker Roland Lowe Begay were identified as the two individuals who found Gene and Betsy’s bodies in their home. Kesler, who worked for the couple for 16 years, made the harrowing 911 call.
Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa Hackman weren’t seen for weeks before their bodies were discovered. (Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
“We asked law enforcement for advice on how to do it. We started the process of a wellness check.”
Gene’s daughter, Leslie, exclusively told Fox News Digital that not only had she never spoken to Kesler before, she was unaware of anyone pursuing a wellness check on her father or Betsy, including the sheriff’s department.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office for comment.
GENE HACKMAN’S DOGS HELPED AUTHORITIES LOCATE HIS BODY
The entrance to the gated community where actor Gene Hackman, his wife and their dog were found dead in their home is shown on Feb. 27, 2025, in Santa Fe, N.M. (AP Photo/Roberto Rosales)
Law enforcement officials talk outside the home of actor Gene Hackman on Feb. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Roberto Rosales)
“No one had reached out,” Leslie said. When asked if authorities had contacted Leslie about her father’s well-being before he was found dead, she said, “Not prior to the discovery.”
“No one had reached out.”
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LISTEN: GENE HACKMAN 911 CALL
Gene died due to hypertensive atherosclerosis cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer’s disease as a significant contributing factor, New Mexico officials confirmed one week ago. He was likely alone in the home for about a week until he died around Feb. 18, which was the last time activity was recorded on his pacemaker.
Betsy died due to hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, which is transmitted from animals to humans and is commonly found in rodents, the New Mexico Department of Health confirmed. Her autopsy determined the manner of death as natural. Authorities believe she died on or about Feb. 11.
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Hantavirus is characterized by “flu-like symptoms consisting of fever, muscle aches, cough, sometimes vomiting and diarrhea that can progress to shortness of breath and cardiac or heart failure and lung failure,” Chief Medical Investigator Dr. Heather Jarrell explained during the news conference.
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Jarrell performed a full autopsy on Gene the day after his body was discovered, which showed “severe heart disease, including multiple surgical procedures involving the heart, evidence of prior heart attacks, and severe changes of the kidneys due to chronic high blood pressure.”
Both Gene and Betsy tested negative for carbon monoxide poisoning, and a full toxicology report is pending.
The investigation remains ongoing until cellphone data can be reviewed, and a necropsy is performed on their deceased dog, Zinna.
Kesler told Fox News Digital that he remembers the Hackmans as “kind” and “generous.”
“They cared about people,” he said.
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