Gene Hackman, wife’s cause of death revealed as sheriff reveals possible timeline

More than a week after the mysterious deaths of Hollywood legend Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, police have finally released the long-awaited details on how the couple died.

Gene Hackman lived with his dead wife’s body for a full week before succumbing to complications from heart problems and Alzheimer’s disease, officials have revealed.

His longtime love, Betsy Arakawa, died of Hantavirus, a rare flu-like disease linked to rats, likely on February 11, the New Mexico officials said.

The “French Connection” star, meanwhile, is believed to have died seven days later.

The tragic timeline ends the mystery that has surrounded the death of one of America’s most beloved actors, who was found with his wife on February 26 inside their Santa Fe mansion.

Arakawa, 65, last left the sprawling estate on February 11, which was also the last time she sent out any communications, according to Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza.

Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendozat. Picture: Getty Images

Hackman, 95, who had late-stage Alzheimer’s disease likely died roughly a week after his wife from hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and from Alzheimer’s. He tested negative for Hantavirus.

“He was in a very poor state of health,” Dr Heather Jarrell, the chief medical examiner at New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator, said.

“He was in an advanced state of Alzheimer’s disease and it was quite possible he did not know that she was deceased.”

The medical examiner noted that Hackman was not dehydrated at the time of his death — likely on Feb. 18, the day after his last recorded pacemaker activity.

The actor, however, didn’t have any food in his stomach.

Arakawa, meanwhile, probably picked up Hantavirus — which can only pass from animals to humans — after she was “exposed to rodent excrement,” Dr Jarrell said.

Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead along with their beloved dog Zinna. Picture: WireImage

The wife would have begun feeling sick three to six days before then “succumbing pretty quickly” to the virus, the ME said.

Jarrell said there were signs of “rodent entry” around the property but they “assessed the risk of exposure in the primary residence as low — similar to other well-maintained houses in New Mexico.”

The bodies of Hackman and Arakawa were discovered by maintenance and security workers at their Santa Fe, New Mexico, mansion on February 26.

The two-time Oscar winner was found in the mud room of the home near his cane and sunglasses while his pianist wife was discovered in a bathroom with an open prescription bottle and pills scattered on the counter.Officials determined last week that there was no foul play involved, but deemed the circumstances “suspicious enough” to warrant an investigation, police said in an affidavit.

Arakawa was found in the bathroom with an open prescription bottle and pills scattered around the room, with her face bloated and hands and feet appearing mummified.

Santa Fe County deputies remain outside the house belonging to actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa. Picture: AP Photo

It was first believed the couple may have died of carbon monoxide poisoning, but the sheriff’s office said the pair tested negative results for the deadly gas.

Hackman was found on the floor of the home’s mudroom in a similar decomposing condition beside his walking cane and sunglasses.

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

Originally published as Gene Hackman, wife’s cause of death revealed as sheriff reveals possible timeline