Gene Hackman’s wife Betsy Arakawa hadn’t called her mother since OCTOBER, leaving family worried

The elderly mother of Gene Hackman’s wife, who was found partially ‘mummified’ with him at their New Mexico home Wednesday, had not heard from her daughter since October, DailyMail.com can reveal. 

Betsy Arakawa, 64, usually checked in with her 91-year-old mom Yoshie Feaster, who lives in Hawaii, with regular monthly phone calls, the mother’s longtime housekeeper Keiko said. 

But they started to worry after Betsy had failed to call in months. 

The news comes as Santa Fe Sheriff  revealed that Hackman likely died on February 17, nine days before the couples bodies were discovered.

Keiko said Yoshie was informed by New Mexico police of her daughter’s death on Wednesday, but due to her dementia she has now forgotten the tragic news.

‘She talked to a New Mexico policeman the other day. But she has dementia so she forgot already. I feel so sorry for her,’ the housekeeper, who has worked for Yoshie for 20 years, told DailyMail.com.

‘She was very upset. But right now she’s kind of normal.

The bodies of Gene Hackman, 95, and Betsy Arakawa, 64 – seen in March last year – were found in their secluded mansion in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Wednesday 

Arakawa sparked concerns after failing to call her mother since October, DailyMail.com has learned   

Aerial photos of the couple’s Santa Fe home where they were found dead this week 

‘Betsy hadn’t called her mother in months. She usually called every one or two months. Last time she called was October. We were thinking, what happened?’

Keiko said Arakawa had no other surviving close relatives.

Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said the Hackmans’ bodies could have been lying there for ‘weeks’ before they were found. On Friday he revealed that Hackman’s pacemaker stopped working on February 17, meaning that is the day he likely died.

Speaking to NBC’s Today Show on Friday morning, he said it was ‘very difficult to determine’ whether they died simultaneously.

‘There’s no indication that anyone was moving about the house or doing anything different, so it’s very difficult to determine if they both passed at the same time or how close they passed together,’ Mendoza said. 

‘We’re trying to put that information together and, obviously, with the assistance of the office of the medical investigator, I think the autopsy report is going to be the key to this investigation.’

The couple are pictured with two of their dogs in an undated photo. Authorities say a German Shepherd was found dead in a bathroom closet, while two healthy dogs were also found on the property 

Gene and Betsy blended a modest life in Santa Fe and the high life in Hollywood at events like the 2003 Golden Globes

The autopsies were completed early on Thursday morning, but authorities are waiting on the results as well as a toxicology report, which could take much longer.

The toxicology report will help determine whether carbon monoxide poisoning was a factor, as police originally suspected, though they found no sign of a gas leak.

According to a search warrant document filed in court, investigators searched the $3.8million home again Thursday and found thyroid medication and the angina blocker Diltiazem inside, along with Tylenol.

Police also listed two green phones and the couple’s health records, but didn’t go into detail about what was in them.

‘That’s obviously very important evidence at the scene,’ Sheriff Mendoza told NBC about the prescription drugs.

‘That information was collected . . . passed to the medical investigator to help them make a determination,’ he said. 

Hackman and Arakawa are pictured with Hackman’s daughters Elizabeth and Leslie at a Beverly Hills movie premiere in 1996  

Santa Fe County deputies were outside of Betsy and Gene’s home in Santa Fe on Thursday as they continue to investigate the cause of death 

‘We’re l
ooking at that specifically, and other medications possibly in the residence . . . that is something of concern.’

Chris Fitzhenry, 42, he Arakawas’ representative on Oahu said the family expressed their condolences for Hackman’s family, but told DailyMail.com that they did not want to comment further.

‘The family over here doesn’t want to make any comments right now. They’re going through grief,’ he said.

‘Of course, we give our condolences to Gene’s children and his family. But this is a very private moment. Yoshie, Gene, Betsy, they were all very private people.

‘The best way we can honor them right now is to not speak out until the family has had time to breathe and accept the reality of the situation.’

Hackman, 95, was found dead in a mud room off the kitchen of his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. His sunglasses and cane were on the floor and it has been suggested the actor had suffered a fall. 

Meanwhile Arakawa’s body was discovered on the floor of the couple’s bathroom, with the couple’s German shepherd found dead in a bathroom closet nearby. 

The two are believed to have been dead for up to two weeks and were found partially-mummified. 

The skin and tissue of their bodies had been preserved, likely by Santa Fe’s cool dry winter climate. 

Cops arriving at the scene deemed it suspicious enough to warrant a thorough investigation but later ruled there was no indication of foul play, with no wounds found on the bodies of Hackman or Arakawa.