Gene Hackman and wife found dead in their home

UpstateGal said:
I posted my theory on the other thread about Gene Hackman's death. I believe it is a solid explanation for what happened.
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Since you posted it in this thread Iā€™ll copy it for you.

I read earlier that the pills scattered on the counter were Tylenol, thyroid and high blood pressure medicine.

My theory is: Gene, 95 with a pacemaker, had a sudden heart attack and fell to the floor, Betsy ran to the bathroom to get medicine, frantically opening a few wrong bottles and spilling pills. Then the dogs were running around spooked from Gene's fall and Betsy's frenzy behavior and the dogs could have knocked down Betsy and she hit her head, causing her death. Gene was frail and Betsy was a small 63 year old and they had 3 large German Shepherds.

The dog that died could have swallowed a few Tylenol or a combination of the other medicines sniffing around after a few hours or days of not being fed which would be toxic and cause the dog's death. The dog could have walked around awhile and then went into the closet to die because dogs will try to hide when they are dying.

I don't believe Betsy committed suicide.
 
CallMeKate said:
Very good theory, Patty, and it makes the most sense of anything I've heard. I don't believe she did, either.
Now that I think of it, this theory would even explain the open door if Gene had just come in and had a medical event... maybe came in yelling for her if he knew something wasn't right.
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Sorry for the confusion Kate. Thatā€™s UpStateGalā€™s theory. She posted that sheā€™d written out a theory in the other thread about this so I copied it for her.

It does sound reasonable though.
 
Your theory is as good as any @PeppermintPatty ā€¦.

a couple things I read/heard on news programs ā€¦.. the dog that died was closed up in a dog crate, either by accident or on purpose. ā€¦ making no food or water available to him for many days.

They said Geneā€™s pacemaker stopped working on February 17thā€¦. so day he died? ā€¦ Heart attack. and fell to the floor.

He had on shades and was in their mud room near the entrance, either coming or going from outsideā€¦.and one dog was still outside from that point.
 
PeppermintPatty said:
Sorry for the confusion Kate. Thatā€™s UpStateGalā€™s theory. She posted that sheā€™d written out a theory in the other thread about this so I copied it for her.
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Ah, my apologies... the confusion was all mine. I know it will take a while to hear the actual cause of the deaths, but there's no way anyone will ever know the chain of events leading to the deaths because no one else was there. Such a sad story.
 
CallMeKate said:
Ah, my apologies... the confusion was all mine. I know it will take a while to hear the actual cause of the deaths, but there's no way anyone will ever know the chain of events leading to the deaths because no one else was there. Such a sad story.
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Not 100% but, I guess, it will be a process of elimination; if Betsy is found not to have taken an overdose and not to have suffered a medical emergency then the possibility left is that she suffered an accident. If it can be established who died first, if it were Betsy then that would also eliminate the theory that Gene died and Betsy panicked in her bid to help him which, is the theory I think may be right. I imagine that the German Shepherd was put in the closet because it was stressed by whatever situation was unfolding.

It is very sad. I read an article earlier which referred to one of their friends who arranged a BBQ and invited them along. On the day, Betsy arrived with lots of supplies and enthusiasm while Gene was just grumpy but, apparently, he soon joined in and they had a great time. They sound like nice people.
 
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I had read both that the dog was found in a closet, another stating that the dog was found in a crate. If the dog was in the crate then obviously it starved to death, if it was in a closet then maybe it did take the pills but then , though I am not sure that dogs take to pills generally. If that was the case and the door was open why did the other dogs found on the property not take them. Why was the dog in the crate if the other two dogs were found roaming the property? A lot of questions. May they rest in peace
 
CallMeKate said:
Ah, my apologies... the confusion was all mine. I know it will take a while to hear the actual cause of the deaths, but there's no way anyone will ever know the chain of events leading to the deaths because no one else was there. Such a sad story.
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Itā€™s a very sad story, hopefully others can shed some more light on it.
RobinWren said:
I had read both that the dog was found in a closet, another stating that the dog was found in a crate. If the dog was in the crate then obviously it starved to death, if it was in a closet then maybe it did take the pills but then , though I am not sure that dogs take to pills generally. If that was the case and the door was open why did the other dogs found on the property not take them. Why was the dog in the crate if the other two dogs were found roaming the property? A lot of questions. May they rest in peace
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i agree that dogs donā€™t usually take pills. You have to hide pills in pieces of cheese etc., to get them to eat them. If the dog was stuck in a crate, what a slow agonizing death that must have been. Maybe it was in a crate, in the closet. If it wasnā€™t stuck in there, then it could have lived like the other 2 dogs.
It is a very sad story. Some things weā€™ll be haunted about.
 
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The more I read of the latest news ā€¦. the biggest mystery I read is about Betsyā€™s ā€œsuspicious" death scene, and her condition.
Things donā€™t add up.

And those two ā€œhealthyā€ dogs, reports are saying have definitely been fed or found food? ā€¦.. shame they (the dogs) canā€™t talk!



My only other weird thought ā€¦ this is New Mexico, and strange unexplained things have happened there ā€¦.. :alien: o_O;)
 
I was prompted to ask my Cadio Doc about my pacemaker's technical features, to find out that it does have a "play back feature " built in, that can be played back by the pacemaker techs, to provide an extended "history" of it's working features. I suggest that the autopsy team used the play back feature on Hackman's pacemaker to establish his time of death and the date of his death. Which is important to establish the chain of events, in this case. JIM.
 
PeppermintPatty said:
You know, when I was younger, I actually didnā€™t like Gene Hackman. I wasnā€™t sure why. Years later I realized it was because he played an excellent villain. Most of the movies heā€™s played in have become some of my favourite movies. Last night I tried to watch one of them but they werenā€™t free so I passed. Tonight I will try again to watch one of his classic movies. Usually the best movies do require payment with the plan we are on.
Iā€™ll try for Runaway Jury. That is an excellent movie. Oh I can get it. Yayyyyy!
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Have you seen Target? He's the hero in that one. Also stars Matt Dillon. It's not one of his classics, but it does have some scenes that are emotionally powerful for me.
 
JustDave said:
Have you seen Target? He's the hero in that one. Also stars Matt Dillon. It's not one of his classics, but it does have some scenes that are emotionally powerful for me.
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No I havenā€™t seen it but might look for it tonight. Thank you. I really like Matt Dillon as well.
 
On the internet, there's all kinds of chatter about the Hackmans' doors being unlocked. To some this proves that a person known to the Hackmans murdered them and also killed the dog. People are going to grasp on to any bit of info, and create their own scenario of what happened. We've all got our own scenarios; we'll just have to wait for the cops to come up with the most plausible.
 
I mentioned this on the other Hackman thread...

I don't think there is a whole lot to this story, but I could be wrong.

Hackman dies of natural causes. Distraught wife takes her own life. Starving older dog passes away. They lived in a gated community so foul play would be a reach in my opinion.
 
Beezer said:
I mentioned this on the other Hackman thread...

I don't think there is a whole lot to this story, but I could be wrong.

Hackman dies of natural causes. Distraught wife takes her own life. Starving older dog passes away. They lived in a gated community so foul play would be a reach in my opinion.
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I'm in a gated community and the people in these communities are no different better / worse then those out of them .

Granted I'm in an average not millionaire community but you know what I mean and add that on foot you can get into any community not by vehicle if human security at entrance .
 
Beezer said:
I mentioned this on the other Hackman thread...

I don't think there is a whole lot to this story, but I could be wrong.

Hackman dies of natural causes. Distraught wife takes her own life. Starving older dog passes away. They lived in a gated community so foul play would be a reach in my opinion.
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If Betsy were 90 years old, I would agree with the distraught wife theory. But she was only 63 and supposedly in good health.
 
I hope the daughter tells us more at some later date. Like why didn't such a well to do couple, in such a huge house, have a housekeeper at least one day a week.? Why was the German Shepard in a crate while the other dogs let themselves in and out through a dog door? Did those dogs have pool water or an outside water dish to drink?

If your husband collapsed wouldn't you call 911 before going to your bathroom to take your thyroid medicine? If you were planning to kill yourself wouldn't you provide for your dogs first?

Maybe she passed out first and Gene was going for help when he had his heart attack.
 

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