It comes after cops admitted that Betsy was still alive a full 24 hours after authorities initially believed she had died

A CHILLING new twist has emerged in the mysterious deaths of Hollywood legend Gene Hackman and his wife after a mystery man was caught stalking the couple weeks before they died.

Freshly released bodycam footage shows a hairstylist revealing to police that Hackman’s wife, Betsy Arakawa, confided in him about a stranger who followed the pair twice in December.

Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, at the Golden Globe Awards.
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Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their Santa Fe home last monthCredit: AP

An elderly man with a cane walks with a woman.
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The last public picture of Gene and his wife Betsy taken in March 2024Credit: Splash

Man sitting at a desk, gesturing.
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Footage shows hairstylist Christopher talking to copsCredit: Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office via Fox News
The Oscar-winning actor, 95, was found dead alongside Arakawa, 65, and one of their dogs on February 26 in their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Authorities later confirmed Hackman died of “significant” heart disease, with Alzheimer’s as a contributing factor, while Arakawa is believed to have died a week earlier from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome.

But now a hairstylist named Christopher has dropped a fresh bombshell.

Speaking to officers in footage obtained by Fox News, he claimed Arakawa told him a man parked outside their gate and followed them on more than one occasion.

“She mentioned to me that there was a man that had parked outside of their gate and followed them,” Christopher told officers.

“On two separate occasions. One occasion is when they went to White Rock.

“They went and had lunch there and the guy followed them from parked [outside of their gated community], followed them all the way to White Rock.

“She said, ‘Christopher, I’m surprised that security didn’t [know] how he got there… because when we left, I noticed that this car had followed us from the residence to White Rock’.”

The man allegedly pulled out a folder full of photos of Hackman and asked for autographs.

“She said… she approached him and said, ‘I told him he needed to have more respect,’” Christopher said.

The hairstylist also recalled telling Betsy: “That’s so weird because Santa Fe’s not a place of paparazzi and stuff.”

The second incident was equally bizarre.

The same man allegedly followed the couple to a different location and tried to offer them a bottle of wine – which they refused.

Christopher recalled: “I said, ‘Oh my gosh, Betsy, that’s crazy. You should not have approached this person. This makes me nervous.’

“He knew what [they] drove. That’s the scary part.”

The Hackman estate seems to be fighting to keep details of the deaths under wraps.

On March 13, a lawyer for the couple’s estate filed a petition in Santa Fe District Court to stop the medical investigator and sheriff’s office from releasing any footage or records, Fox News reports.

Lawyer Kurt Sommer wrote that once the images are released, “the bell cannot be unrung,” arguing their right to privacy outweighs public interest.

Law enforcement officers outside Gene Hackman's home in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
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Local authorities pictured outside the couple’s home in Santa Fe, New MexicoCredit: AP

Illustration of Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa's home location in Santa Fe, New Mexico, following their deaths.
He even cited Kurt Cobain’s case as precedent for keeping “death-scene” photos sealed.

“During their lifetime, the Hackmans placed significant value on their privacy and took affirmative, vigilant steps to safeguard their privacy,” he wrote.

The estate was awarded a temporary restraining order blocking the release of any autopsy photos, bodycam footage, or interior images of the Hackman residence — including any deceased animals.

A hearing on the matter is set for March 31.

It comes after cops admitted that Betsy was still alive a full 24 hours after authorities initially believed she had died.

Preliminary cell phone records show that Betsy made multiple calls to a Santa Fe medical center on February 12, 24 hours after she was believed to have passed away on February 11.

The new revelations by the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Department challenges previous reports and adds a layer of mystery to the already puzzling timeline.

“We can now confirm that Mrs. Hackman’s phone was utilized on the morning of February 12 to call a medical center in Santa Fe, Cloudberry Health,” authorities told Fox News.

“A total of three calls were made that morning, all to the medical center.

“One incoming call was made to Mrs. Hackman from the same medical center that afternoon.

“That appeared as a missed call on Mrs. Hackman’s cell phone.”

The revelation confirms a claim made by Dr. Josiah Child, a former emergency care specialist who runs Cloudberry Health.