Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman died of natural causes, probably around a week after his wife passed away, the chief medical investigator in the US state of New Mexico said Friday, March 7. The findings end more than a week of mystery that have surrounded the death of one of Hollywood’s most beloved stars, whose everyman persona belied a powerful presence and rare acting skill.
“The cause of death for Mr. Gene Hackman, aged 95 years, is hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer’s disease as a significant contributory factor,” Heather Jarrell, the chief medical examiner for the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator, told reporters.
“The cause of death for Miss Betsy Hackman, aged 65 years, is hantavirus, pulmonary syndrome. The manner of death is natural.”
Neither body showed any sign of trauma, nor any indication of carbon monoxide poisoning, which had been an initial suggestion.
Hantavirus presents as a flu-like disease, with symptoms including fever, muscle aches, cough, sometimes vomiting and diarrhea that can progress to shortness of breath and cardiac or heart failure and lung failure, Jarrell said.
“This occurs after a one- to eight-week exposure to excrement from a particular mouse species that carries Hantavirus.”
Jarrell said data from Hackman’s pacemaker showed its last activity over a week before his body was found when maintenance workers were unable to access their sprawling Santa Fe property.
“Based on this information, it is reasonable to conclude that Mr. Hackman probably died around February 18. Based on the circumstances, it is reasonable to conclude that Miss Hackman passed away first, with February 11 being the last time that she was going to be alive,” said Jarrell. “It’s quite possible he was not aware she was deceased.”
Hackman was found in the home’s entryway. Arakawa was found in a bathroom. Thyroid medication pills prescribed to Arakawa were found nearby and weren’t listed as contributing to her death, Jarrell said.
Hantavirus is typically is reported in spring and summer, often due to exposures that occur when people are near mouse droppings in homes, sheds or poorly ventilated areas. This is the first confirmed case of hantavirus in New Mexico this year. Jarrell said it was not known how quickly Arakawa died.
Investigators earlier retrieved personal items from the couple’s home, including a monthly planner and two cellphones.
One of the couple’s three dogs also was found dead in a crate in a bathroom closet near Arakawa, while two other dogs survived. Authorities initially misidentified the breed. Dogs do not get sick from hantavirus, said Erin Phipps, a veterinarian with the New Mexico Health Department. A necropsy will be done on the dog. The sheriff considers this an open investigation until they finish checking into cellphone data and receive results of the dog’s necropsy.
When Hackman and Arakawa were found, the 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 (2,200 meters).
Hackman, a Hollywood icon, won two Oscars during a storied career in films including The French Connection, Hoosiers and Superman from the 1960s until his retirement in the early 2000s. Arakawa, born in Hawaii, studied as a concert pianist, attended the University of Southern California and met Hackman in the mid-1980s while working at a California gym.
The couple’s stucco, Pueblo-revival style home sits on a hill in a gated community at the southern tip of the Rocky Mountains. Santa Fe is known as a refuge for celebrities, artists and authors.
Hackman dedicated much of his time in retirement to painting and writing novels far from Hollywood’s social circuit. He served for several years on the board of trustees at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, and he and his wife were investors in local businesses.