Gene Hackman died of heart disease, his wife died of hantavirus, authorities say

SANTA FE, N.M. — Actor Gene Hackman died of heart disease a full week after his wife died from hantavirus in their New Mexico hillside home, and he may not have been aware she was dead because he showed severe signs of Alzheimer’s disease, authorities revealed Friday.

Both deaths were ruled to be from natural causes, chief medical examiner Dr. Heather Jarrell said alongside state fire and health officials at a news conference.

“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.”

Authorities ruled out foul play after the bodies of Hackman, 95, and Betsy Arakawa, 65, were discovered Feb 26. Immediate tests for carbon monoxide poisoning were negative.

Investigators found that the last known communication and activity from Arakawa was Feb. 11 when she visited a pharmacy, a pet store and a farm market, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said Friday.

Hackman’s pacemaker last showed signs of activity a week later and that he had an abnormal heart rhythm Feb. 18., the day he likely died, Jarrell said.

“It’s quite possible he was not aware she was deceased,” Jarrell said.

Their bodies were found a little over a week later. Hackman was found in the home’s entryway. His death was tied to heart disease with Alzheimer’s disease contributing.

Arakawa was found in a bathroom. Authorities linked her death to hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare but potentially fatal disease spread by infected rodent droppings. Thyroid medication pills prescribed to Arakawa were found nearby and weren’t listed as contributing to her death, Jarrell said.

Hantavirus is typically is reported in spring and summer, often due to exposures that occur when people are near mouse droppings in homes, sheds or poorly ventilated areas. This is the first confirmed case of hantavirus in New Mexico this year.

Jarrell said it was not known how quickly Arakawa died.

Investigators earlier retrieved personal items from the couple’s home, including a monthly planner and two cellphones.

One of the couple’s three dogs also was found dead in a crate in a bathroom closet near Arakawa, while two other dogs survived. Authorities initially misidentified the breed.

Dogs do not get sick from hantavirus, said Erin Phipps, a veterinarian with the New Mexico Health Department. A necropsy will be done on the dog. The sheriff considers this an open investigation until they finish checking into cellphone data and receive results of the dog’s necropsy.

When Hackman and Arakawa were found, the bodies were decomposing with some mummification, a consequence of body type and climate in Santa Fe’s especially dry air at an elevation of nearly 7,200 feet (2,200 meters).

Hackman, a Hollywood icon, won two Oscars during a storied career in films including “The French Connection,” “Hoosiers” and “Superman” from the 1960s until his retirement in the early 2000s.

Arakawa, born in Hawaii, studied as a concert pianist, attended the University of Southern California and met Hackman in the mid-1980s while working at a California gym.

The couple’s stucco, Pueblo-revival style home sits on a hill in a gated community at the southern tip of the Rocky Mountains. Santa Fe is known as a refuge for celebrities, artists and authors.

Hackman dedicated much of his time in retirement to painting and writing novels far from Hollywood’s social circuit. He served for several years on the board of trustees at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, and he and his wife were investors in local businesses.