Surprise Contributing Factor in Gene Hackman's Death Revealed
Earlier Friday afternoon authorities revealed the causes of death for actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, after they were found dead on Feb. 26.
During the press conference on Friday afternoon the Santa Fe County Sheriff's department revealed that Arakawa died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a disease carried by rodents - in the case of Arakawa's death, deer mice, according to the announcement.
Police believe Arakawa died around Feb. 11 after no outward communication was found and emails she received remained unopened. "Numerous emails were unopened on her computer on February 11. There was no additional outgoing communication from her or known activity after February 11, 2025,' Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said
Authorities believe Hackman died a week later from heart disease - but found a surprise factor at play: Alzheimer's.
Chief Medical Investigator Dr. Heather Jarrell said it was possible that Hackman was not aware his wife was deceased in their home.
'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.'
Just last week, Hackman's nephew, Tim Hackman, revealed the family was just waiting on a toxicology report to show their causes of death while fan theories ran wild on social media.
'We're waiting on toxicology. That will tell us everything,' he said. 'It's hard to theorize. There are lots of theories out there and I don't want to speculate. It's easy to speculate negative theories. The family wants to keep it positive for now and when we know the truth we will deal with it.'
A necropsy is being done on the couple's dog, Zinna, to determine its cause of death as well.
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