The mystery surrounding the death of legendary, award-winning actor Gene Hackman and his wife continues to deepen as authorities scramble to determine what, exactly, happened to them.

According to the Daily Mail, cops investigating the deaths admitted this week that they had the wrong information regarding the death of one of the couples' dogs, which was also found dead at their Santa Fe home. 

While the revelation might not be totally relevant to how Hackman and his wife died, the mixup is raising eyebrows for those closely following the case.

Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, 63, were found dead in their Santa Fe homes in separate rooms. Their bodies were discovered by a caretaker.

What's going on?

Cops on the investigation admitted this week that they misidentified the deceased dog found in their home.

Initially, the police reported that they discovered the couple's German Shepherd, Bear, deceased in the home, in its kennel, when the bodies were discovered.

However, that particular dog is alive and well and was being held at a pet daycare center in Santa Fe along with their other dog Nikita, a seven-year-old Akita-shepherd mix.

The Daily Mail added:

The dog that was actually found dead in the home with the couple was Zinna, their 12-year-old reddish Australian Kelpie mixed breed, Sherry Gaber, a friend of the couple, told the outlet.

Gaber, an animal chiropractor, was already thrown off by the news of Hackman and Arakawa's deaths, but when she heard about Bear, she couldn't wrap her head around it.

"I can’t handle that image," Gaber said, referencing the reports of Bear's apparent death. "That’s why this whole thing is so distressing. It just doesn’t add up."

Even more bizarre is that the Santa Fe police were not aware of the mix-up when pressed by reporters, once again raising more questions as to what happened during the course of the initial investigation.

Social media reacts

Users across social media weighed in on the mysterious circumstances surrounding Hackman's death and the latest revelation about the dog.

Gene Hackman's dog was misidentified as other mysteries swirl around actor's death https://t.co/iIYpJ9RU9x

— The Associated Press (@AP) March 5, 2025

"Something isn't adding up in these two people's deaths," one X user wrote.

Another X user wrote, "The POLICE aren’t familiar enough with GERMAN SHEPHERDS to know that isn’t one?"