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Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman died after his wife and possibly didn’t know she lay dead in their New Mexico home for a week because of his advanced Alzheimer’s, investigators have said.
On Friday, police and medical examiners provided an update on the death of Hackman, 95, and Betsy Arakawa, 65. The couple were found dead in their Santa Fe, New Mexico, home on February 26, along with one of their three dogs.
Questions swirled over their deaths as police initially deemed them “suspicious” when they found no evidence of carbon monoxide poisoning. Heather Jarrell, chief medical examiner, revealed that the couple died from natural causes – but a week apart. It is likely that Arakawa died first, Jarrell said
Arakawa was found with an open prescription bottle and pills scattered on the bathroom counter. Her death was attributed to hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, Jarrell said. Hantaviruses target the lungs and can cause serious illness and death.
It is often spread by rodents and transfers from the animal to a person and there have been about 800 cases recorded in the U.S. since 1993.
Hackman was found on the ground near the kitchen in a “mudroom”, an entryway where shoes and coats are often removed, and appeared to have fallen “suddenly”. A cane and sunglasses were found on the ground nearby.
His death tied to heart disease with Alzheimer’s disease contributing, the medical examiner said on Friday.
“Mr. Hackman showed evidence of advanced Alzheimer’s disease,» Jarrell said. «He was in a very poor state of health. He had significant heart disease, and I think ultimately that’s what resulted in his death.”
It was previously revealed that recordings from the actor’s pacemaker showed that he could have died as early as February 17, more than a week before the couple’s bodies were discovered.
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Based on this information, Jarrell said, it was “reasonable to conclude” that Hackman probably died around February 18. She added that was also reasonable to conclude that Arakawa had died first with February 11 being the last time that she was known to be alive.
Asked if it was possible that the actor had been unaware of his wife’s death, Jarrell said: “I think that question is difficult to answer, but I can tell you that he was in an advanced state of Alzheimer’s, and it’s quite possible that he was not aware that she was deceased.”
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said it was also hard to tell if, judging by where and how Hackman was found, if he had been going to seek help for his wife. “That’s hard to answer,” Mendoza said.
“Again, it’s hard to get into the frame of mind of what was happening at the time. And I don’t know if we’ll ever have the answer to that question, whether he was going to go for help.”
The bodies were found by a pair of maintenance workers, who alerted police, telling officers they hadn’t seen the homeowners in about two weeks.
The dead dog, a kelpie mix named Zinna, was found around 10-15 feet from Arakawa in a closet in the bathroom. The other two pets, German shepherd named Bear and a dog named Nikita survived, with one found running loose on the property.
Mendoza said on Friday deceased dog has been taken for necropsy at the Veterinary Diagnostic Services. “We’ll be awaiting those results,” he said, adding that that Arakawa had collected Zinna from Gruda Veterinary Hospital on February 9.
“There was a procedure that was done with the with the dog, which may explain why their dog was in a crate at the residence,” Mendoza said.
Hackman was a two-time Oscar winner who starred in films including The French Connection, Unforgiven, and The Royal Tenenbaums. Since retiring from acting in 2004, he had been open about his health struggles, revealing in 2009 that his doctor wanted him to quit Hollywood due to the stress on his heart.
Hackman previously told Empire: “The straw that broke the camel’s back was actually a stress test that I took in New York. The doctor advised me that my heart wasn’t in the kind of shape that I should be putting it under any stress.”
Hackman had three children – Christopher, Elizabeth and Leslie – with his first wife, Faye Maltese. The pair were married from 1956 to 1986. Maltese died in 2017.
A special tribute was given to him at the 97th Oscars on March 2 by his friend and fellow acting veteran, Morgan Freeman.
