Authorities have revealed actor Gene Hackman died of heart disease a full week after his wife died from hantavirus in their New Mexico home.
Hackman, 95, Betsy Arakawa, 65, and their kelpie mix named Zinna were found dead by a maintenance worker on February 26.
In the days that followed, mystery swirled around the deaths as authorities ruled out foul play, and immediate tests for carbon monoxide poisoning were negative.
Then authorities released the causes, proposing a simple but tragic theory: Shortly after Arakawa's death from a rare infection, Hackman died of the nation’s leading killer – heart disease – apparently unable to seek help after his wife died.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said the 95-year-old was likely unaware that she was dead because he was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease.
Here's a timeline of events surrounding the couple's deaths:
11 February
Arakawa's last known activities happened this day. She emailed with a massage therapist in the late morning, visited a grocery store in Santa Fe in the afternoon, then went to a pharmacy and a pet food store, Mendoza said.
At 5.15pm, Arakawa entered the gated community to the home she shared with Hackman. Mendoza said investigators found no other communication or activity by Arakawa after February 11, which they believe to be the day of her death. The medical examiner said she may have been experiencing symptoms of hantavirus before her death.
17-18 February
Hackman’s initial pacemaker data revealed cardiac activity on 17 February. Subsequent pacemaker investigation showed an abnormal rhythm of atrial fibrillation on 18 February, the last record of heart activity.
Based on this information, chief medical examiner Dr Heather Jarrell said it is reasonable to conclude that Hackman probably died around 18 February.
26 February
A maintenance worker who showed up to do routine work at the house could not get inside and called a security worker, who spotted two people on the ground inside the home, Mendoza said. The worker called 911 and told an operator he did not know if they were breathing. He and another worker later told authorities that they rarely saw the homeowners and that their last contact with them had been about two weeks prior.
Police found Hackman in an entryway and Arakawa in a bathroom, as well as a deceased dog in a closet.
Arakawa had picked up the kelpie mix named Zinna from Gruda Veterinary Hospital on February 9 after a procedure was done, according to the sheriff. He said the hospital visit might help explain why the dog was found dead. A necropsy is being done on Zinna to determine the cause of death, he said.
Two healthy dogs were found on the property — one inside and one outside.
27 February
Autopsies were done on Hackman and Arakawa. Detectives wrote in a search warrant that the couple and the dog had been dead for some time when the maintenance worker discovered their bodies.
28 February
Preliminary autopsy results didn't reveal causes of death but showed Hackman and Arakawa were not killed by carbon monoxide poisoning, the sheriff said. The initial autopsies also found no external trauma to either body.
7 March
Authorities reveal causes of death for Hackman and Arakawa. Jarrell said both deaths were from natural causes.
Hackman’s death was tied to heart disease with Alzheimer’s disease contributing. Authorities linked Arakawa’s death to hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare but potentially fatal disease spread by infected rodent droppings.
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