Gene Hackman, 95, Laid to Rest in Unmarked Grave After Leaving Children Out of Will

The quiet, tragic end of Hollywood legend Gene Hackman has taken an even more dramatic turn. The two-time Academy Award-winning actor, revered for iconic roles in The French Connection and Unforgiven, was found dead alongside his wife, Betsy Arakawa, in their Santa Fe, New Mexico mansion on February 26.

The couple had been deceased for weeks before being discovered, their bodies mummified—a grim and haunting detail that shocked fans and the film industry alike.

Now, new revelations about Hackman’s will—and his burial—have stirred public fascination and family controversy.

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Hackman, who amassed an estimated $80 million fortune over his five-decade career, reportedly left all of it to Arakawa, cutting out his three children from a previous marriage: Christopher, 65, Elizabeth, 62, and Leslie, 58.

What followed appears to be a stark statement by his children.

According to The Mirror, Hackman has been buried in an unmarked grave beside Arakawa in New Mexico. The burial followed a small, private ceremony organized by the very children he excluded from his estate.

This burial arrangement—or lack thereof—has sparked widespread speculation. Was this a final act of retribution by children who felt abandoned, both emotionally and financially?

Gene Hackman’s secret burial and unmarked grave where only a cryptic tribute lies… all orchestrated by children he cut from $80m will https://t.co/Ons2NnouV6

— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) May 2, 2025

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While Hackman never publicly expressed estrangement from his children, the details of his will and their absence from his final resting place suggest a fractured family dynamic that was never reconciled.

Legal experts, however, caution that the final word on Hackman’s fortune may not yet be written. California attorney Tre Lovell explained that, despite Hackman’s 1995 will naming Arakawa as the sole inheritor, there may be legal room for the children to stake a claim.

“The estate will actually be probated in accordance with intestate succession laws and the children would be lawfully next in line to inherit,” Lovell stated.

Complicating matters further is a clause in Arakawa’s will that stipulates the entire estate should be donated to charity if both she and Hackman were to die within 90 days of each other.

As she is believed to have died on February 12 and Hackman on February 18—just six days apart—this clause could become a key point of contention in probate proceedings. Whether Hackman’s children will pursue legal action remains unknown.

Hackman’s first wife and the mother of his three children, Faye Maltese, passed away in 2017. The couple had divorced in 1986 after three decades of marriage.

Gene Hackman & Children pic.twitter.com/LvWjXcbDKz

— Louis Harris (@har286251) February 28, 2025

Though Hackman kept his personal life largely private, he briefly opened up in a 1989 interview about how his career strained his family life.

“You become very selfish as an actor,” Hackman admitted. “Even though I had a family, I took jobs that would separate us for three or four months at a time. The temptations in that, the money and recognition, it was too much for the poor boy in me.”

That poor boy became one of the most celebrated actors of his generation, but his fame may have come at a heavy personal cost.

In his later years, Hackman withdrew almost entirely from public life. After his final film role in 2004’s Welcome to Mooseport, he retired from acting and retreated into seclusion with Arakawa.

As he battled advanced Alzheimer’s disease, she reportedly became his full-time caretaker.

The circumstances of their deaths add another layer of tragedy. Officials believe Arakawa died on February 12 after contracting hantavirus, a rare and deadly disease transmitted through rodent droppings.

🚨 This is the last photo alive of Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa, spotted in March 2024 in Santa Fe

At 94, Gene appeared frail, yet still able to walk 🖤 pic.twitter.com/n4n7LjzNtq

— Mambo Italiano (@mamboitaliano__) February 27, 2025

Investigators discovered their mansion was infested with rats, which created a “breeding ground” for the virus.

Hackman, already physically and cognitively weakened, is believed to have survived for several more days before succumbing to heart failure on February 18.

Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Heather Jarrell suggested that due to Hackman’s advanced Alzheimer’s, it was “quite possible” he was unaware that Arakawa had died just a few rooms away.

Hackman’s children have remained silent in the wake of their father’s passing, and given the lack of a grave marker, some speculate they have no intention of breaking that silence.

The decision to leave the grave unmarked—whether symbolic, practical, or emotional—adds an unsettling epilogue to the life of a man who spent decades in the public eye but died in isolation.

What will become of Hackman’s legacy and fortune remains uncertain. For now, the world is left to reconcile the achievements of a cinematic titan with the sorrowful circumstances of his final days.

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