Clinic says Gene Hackman's wife called them the day after police thought she died
Arakawa had previously been believed to have died on the evening of February 11, the last day she was seen in public.
However, the Santa Fe Sheriff's Office has now learned that on the morning of February 12, she made a phone call to Cloudberry Health, a local medical concierge service that allows patients to speak to credentialed doctors.
Speaking to Good Morning America , Santa Fe Sheriff Adan Mendoza said: 'That would indicate to me that she was seeking medical advice or medical help and may have not been feeling well.'
Good Morning America contacted Cloudberry, who confirmed that Betsy had phoned them to inquire about what they called an 'esoteric treatment' that morning.
The medical service also said they detected no indication of breathing issues or distress during the call. They say they called back twice to follow up but their calls went unanswered.
Betsy Arakawa and Gene Hackman, who had been married since 1991, were found dead at their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico last month (Alamy/PA)
Earlier this month, Dr Heather Jarrell, Chief Medical Examiner at the Office of the Medical Investigator in Santa Fe, announced that 65-year-old Arakawa's cause of death was hantavirus — a rare illness contracted via contact with rodents like rats and mice.
Meanwhile, 95-year-old Hackman's death was tied to heart disease with Alzheimer's disease contributing. '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,' Jarrell said.
Authorities are relatively confident that Hackman died on February 18 due to activity recorded on his pacemaker. They had previously believed that Arakawa died a full week earlier, but that theory has been contradicted by this new evidence.
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Establishing the exact timeline could be significant in determining the fate of Hackman's estimated $80 million estate.
It has emerged Hackman left his entire estate to his Arakawa. Hackman's will, drawn up in 1995, makes no mention of his three children, son Christopher and daughters Leslie and Elizabeth.
In her own will, Arakawa left most of her assets to Hackman. However, the document also reportedly includes a clause stating that if the couple died within 90 days of each other, it would be considered a simultaneous death and all her assets would be donated to charity.
Hackman's son Christopher has reportedly already hired Andrew M. Katzenstein, a prominent California trust and estate attorney, which could indicate he plans to challenge his father's will.
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