Gene Hackman Died a Week After His Wife, Both From Natural Causes
Gene Hackman Died a Week After His Wife, Both From Natural Causes
The actor’s wife, Betsy Arakawa, died of a respiratory illness linked to rodents, New Mexico officials said. Mr. Hackman had Alzheimer’s, which contributed to his death from heart disease.
The actor Gene Hackman died from heart disease about a week after his wife, Betsy Arakawa, died in a separate room of their New Mexico home from a virus linked to rodents, the authorities said on Friday.
The revelation that the famous and reclusive couple had died of natural causes put to rest much of the speculation that followed the discovery of their bodies on Feb. 26. But it also raised new questions about the state of mind of Mr. Hackman, who investigators said had advanced Alzheimer’s disease, and why the couple was not discovered sooner.
Ms. Arakawa, 65, had run a series of errands on Feb. 11, but the authorities could find no evidence of any activity after that, suggesting that she could have died that day. Mr. Hackman, 95, is believed to have died about a week later, on Feb. 18, according to New Mexico’s chief medical examiner, Dr. Heather Jarrell.
Mr. Hackman was found on the floor of the mudroom in the couple’s home, near his cane, while Ms. Arakawa was found on a bathroom floor, beside a counter with common medication scattered about that investigators later determined did not play a role in her death. They were not discovered until Feb. 26, when a maintenance worker arrived to the couple’s home east of Santa Fe and grew worried when no one answered the door. The worker contacted a security guard, who called 91
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