Gene Hackman and Wife Betsy Arakawa’s Cause of Death Revealed

Gene Hackman likely died about a week after his wife, Betsy Arakawa, passed away due to hantavirus, a medical examiner announced Friday.

The legendary actor died of cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer’s disease as a significant contributing factor, said Heather Jarrell, the chief medical examiner for the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator.

Arakawa likely died about a week earlier, on February 11, of hantavirus, a potentially fatal virus transmitted by mice. Both deaths fall under natural causes, which can include heart disease, stroke, cancer, respiratory failure, infections, and age-related complications.

Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 65, were found dead on February 26. Authorities said at the time they did not suspect foul play.

At a news conference on Friday, Santa Fe Sheriff Adan Mendoza said that surveillance cameras showed that Arakawa did errands on February 11, visiting Sprouts market and a CVS pharmacy.

She also corresponded with a massage therapist by email that day. Her car entered the gated subdivision where the couple lived around 5:15 p.m.

No activity or communications were found after that date.

Hackman had advanced Alzheimer’s disease, as well as severe heart disease and a history of heart attacks, Jarrell said. He tested negative for hantavirus.

Erin Phipps, the state public health veterinarian, said at the press conference that hantavirus infections are very rare.

She said that out of 136 infections in the state over the last 50 years, 42% were fatal. The virus is typically transmitted through rodent excrement.

Phipps said there were signs of rodent entry in some of the buildings on the property, though the risk in the main house was “low.”

Hackman’s pacemaker registered cardiac activity on February 17. On February 18, the pacemaker picked up an abnormal rhythm, which was the last recording, suggesting that he died that day.

Authorities announced last week that the autopsy found that both bodies tested negative for carbon monoxide.

The New Mexico Gas Company also thoroughly checked the home and found no significant leaks.

According to a search warrant affidavit, Arakawa was found dead on the bathroom floor. Pills were scattered on the countertop.

At the press conference, Jarrell said the pills are thyroid medication that was being taken as prescribed.

Hackman was found in a mud room, off the kitchen. It appeared that both had fallen to the floor.

A dead dog was also found in a closet near Arakawa’s body, while two other healthy dogs were roaming the property. A necropsy on the dog is still pending.

A maintenance worker called the authorities after finding the door left ajar, and deputies went inside and discovered the bodies.

The deaths were considered “suspicious enough” to warrant further investigation. Detectives recovered two cell phones, a monthly planner, and some medications during a search of the property.

Hackman starred in such films as “The French Connection,” “The Conversation,” and “The Royal Tenenbaums.”

He had lived in Santa Fe since the late 1980s, and served on the board of the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum.

The late star won Academy Awards for his roles in “The French Connection” and “Unforgiven,” and retired from acting about 20 years ago.

Arakawa was a former classical pianist who married Hackman in 1991. She owned Pandora’s, a home furnishings store in Santa Fe, with a friend.