The contractor who found legendary actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, dead in their New Mexico home broke his silence on what he described as "one of the worst" days of his life.

Jesse Kesler, 52. who had worked for the couple for 16 years, was one of two people that initially found Hackman, Arakawa, and one of their dogs dead on February 26.

“I wish I’d gone in quicker … I might have been able to save Gene or the dog,” Kessler told the Daily Mail.

“To be honest, it was awful. It was one of the worst days of my life, and I’ve had some bad days. To see someone like that …,” he added with his voice breaking. “I was hoping for a better outcome, that maybe they were out of town and they just didn’t tell anyone, or they got locked in the wine cellar by accident.”

Hackman, 95, was reported to have died of hypertensive cardiovascular disease with Alzheimer's as a factor, while Arakawa, 65, was reported to have died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, New Mexico State Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Heather Jarrell confirmed. Betsy is suspected to have died first as all outgoing communication from her cellphone and email ceased on February 11, the last day she was spotted publicly, while Gene is suspected to have died on February 18, as it was the last day his pacemaker registered data, though Dr. Gerald specified that there was no reliable scientific method to determine an exact time for either death.

The couple's dog, Zinna, was found dead inside a locked crate by first responders, while two others were reported to have wandered the property for days and guided first responders to the legendary actor. Officials reiterated that foul play was not suspected in Hackman and Arakawa's deaths and the scene was tested for carbon monoxide, with only a minute leak found that was deemed to be insignificant.

Hackman, a two-time Academy Award winner, and his wife were married for 34 years. Police reportedly found the couple at around 1:45 p.m. local time on February 26. Hackman's legendary acting career spanned more than 60 years, providing an everyman believability to numerous iconic roles, including playing Jimmy Doyle in The French Connection (1971) and Little Bill Daggett in Unforgiven (1992), which won him the Academy Awards for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, respectively.

The California native was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor for roles in Bonnie & Clyde (1968) and I Never Sang for My Father (1971), as well as Best Actor for Mississippi Burning (1989). Hackman is also remembered for playing arch villain Lex Luthor in Superman (1978) and Superman II (1980), as well as Coach Norman Dale in Hoosiers (1986) and Royal Tenenbaum in The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) among numerous other iconic roles.

Simon Conway