Authorities: Gene Hackman died a week after wife

SANTA FE, N.M. — Forensic experts came to a heart-rending conclusion Friday about the manner of death for actor Gene Hackman: He died of heart disease with complications from Alzheimer’s disease on an empty stomach a week after a rare, rodent-borne disease took the life of his wife at their home in Santa Fe.

The partially mummified remains of Hackman, 95, and Betsy Arakawa, 65, were discovered Feb. 26 when maintenance and security workers showed up at the home and alerted police.

Authorities unraveled the mysterious circumstances and revealed that Arakawa likely died Feb. 11 at home from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare but potentially fatal disease spread by infected rodent droppings.

Hackman was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

“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,” chief medical investigator Dr. Heather Jarrell said. “It’s quite possible he was not aware she was deceased.”

Both deaths were ruled to be from natural causes.

Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said Arakawa’s last known outing was a round of errands and shopping Feb. 11. She visited a pharmacy, pet store and grocery store before returning to the couple’s gated neighborhood that evening.

Arakawa stopped answering emails that day. The couple’s cellphone communications have not yet been analyzed.

Hackman’s pacemaker last showed signs of activity a week later, indicating an abnormal heart rhythm Feb. 18, the day he likely died, Jarrell said.

Hackman was found in the home’s entryway, and Arakawa was found in a bathroom. Their bodies were decomposing with some mummification, a consequence of body type and climate in Santa Fe’s especially dry air at an elevation of nearly 7,200 feet.

Hantavirus typically is reported in spring and summer, often due to exposures that occur when people are near mouse droppings in poorly ventilated areas.