By Daniel Bates
Santa Fe, New Mexico: Gene Hackman’s home was infested with rats which carry the disease which killed his wife, an investigation found.
An assessment of the late actor’s $US4 million ($6.3 million) property in Santa Fe, New Mexico, was carried out a week after the bodies of Hackman, 95, and his wife Betsy Arakwa, 65, were discovered.
Rat traps had been set up throughout the several buildings that made up the property, investigators from the New Mexico Department of Public Health said.
Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa’s house following the couple’s deaths.Credit: AP
Investigators also found rodent droppings, a live rodent and rodent nests in three of the garages. There were additional rodent droppings in two external houses and three sheds within 15 metres of the main house.
The main living area was “clean with no signs of rodent activity,” New Mexico public health officials said.
Police said they believe Arakawa, a classically trained pianist, died on February 12, while Hackman died on February 18. Their bodies were found two weeks after, on February 26.
A view of the interior of the home during the investigation into the deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Credit: AP
Arakwa died of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), a potentially fatal lung condition that humans can contract from contact with rodents and rodent faeces, or their fumes.
Hackman’s cause of death was severe heart disease with Alzheimer’s a contributing factor.
The actor shared three adult children, Christopher, Elizabeth Jean and Leslie Anne, with his first wife. While they had previously been estranged, they had become closer in the years before his death, according to the Daily Mail.
The late Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa. Their home has been found to have had a rat infestation before their deaths.Credit: nna\mikala.theocharous
All three of Hackman’s children were left out of his will.
“He was loved and admired by millions around the world for his brilliant acting career, but to us, he was always just Dad and Grandpa,” his two daughters and granddaughter said in a statement following his death. “We will miss him sorely, and are devastated by the loss.”
Carbon monoxide was initially suspected as a possible cause of death after one of the couple’s dogs was also found dead at the home.
The New Mexico Department of State concluded that the dog, named Zinna, had died of dehydration and starvation.
New Mexico chief medical examiner Dr Heather Jarrell said last month that it was “quite possible” Hackman did not realise his wife had died because of his mental state.
During his decades in Hollywood, Hackman was nominated for five Oscars and won two including for playing the tough New York Police Department detective Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle in The French Connection, his most celebrated role.
Gene Hackman’s children Christopher, Elizabeth and Leslie were not mentioned in his will.Credit: Getty
Hackman retired from acting in 2004 and led a private life in Santa Fe.
A representative for the couple’s estate cited Hackman’s withdrawal from public life in their bid to block the public release of the couple’s autopsy and any investigative reports related to the deaths, especially photographs and video.
The Telegraph, London