Newly-released video shows police responding to home of Gene Hackman and his wife

SANTA FE, N.M. -- Police released body camera video of the day they arrived at the New Mexico home of actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa.

The footage shows workers for the couple overcome with emotion last month after the two were found dead in their Santa Fe home.

"He was just a normal person, and to see that... Sorry," one maintenance worker said, becoming emotional. "She was a sweetheart."

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The video shows sheriff's deputies arriving on the property last month along with witness interviews.

Officials later learned that Hackman died after suffering from severe heart disease with Alzheimer's as "a significant contributory factor," and Arakawa died a week earlier of the hantavirus, a rare disease that can infect humans through infected rodents.

One of their dogs, who was in a crate, likely died of dehydration and starvation.

The video shows deputies getting the numbers for Hackman's daughters and calling his daughter, Elizabeth Hackman, to determine who would adopt the two surviving dogs.

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"I knew Gene and Betsy and they took their dogs to Santa Fe trails, so I'm here to help. But I can't adopt the dogs," said Joseph, a friend of the couple.

"Thank you, Joseph," Elizabeth responded.

The workers were left trying to piece together how the unthinkable deaths could have happened.

"I would communicate with her pretty much on a weekly basis, so, that stopped," one worker said.

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