Autopsy results have revealed the cause of deaths of Academy Award-winning actor Gene Hackman and his pianist wife Betsy Arakawa, after the pair were found dead in separate rooms in their shared Santa Fe home on February 26.
A dead German shepherd was also found in a bathroom closet.
Hackman was suffering from an advanced state of Alzheimer’s and died of heart disease, roughly one week before Arakawa succumbed to a rare respiratory virus spread by rodents known as hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, per the Sydney Morning Herald.
Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome is a rare but potentially deadly lung disease that is spread by infected rodent droppings, especially mice.
It is not currently known how long Arakawa had the disease in her system for.
While Hackman and Arakawa were both found unresponsive on the floor, no signs of blunt force trauma were discovered on their bodies.
Authorities have speculated that due to Hackman’s Alzheimer’s, the actor may have been unaware of Arakawa’s death and have ruled out foul play and carbon monoxide tests returned back negative.
Hackman’s pacemaker also revealed that it recorded its last signal on February 17, almost ten days before the couple’s bodies were initially discovered.
Santa Fe Sheriff Adan Mendoza said in a press conference last week that the couple were “very private”, and said that February 17 was likely the day Hackman died.
“It is a good assumption that was his last day of life,” Mendoza said.
The causes of death were announced at a press conference held at the Santa Fe Sheriff’s office on March 8.
“Mr Hackman showed evidence of advanced Alzheimer’s disease,” said Chief Medical Investigator Dr Heather Jarrell.
“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.”
Hackman and Arakawa lived together in their Santa Fe home since the 1980s, and were seen less in public as Hackman’s Alzheimer’s and health deteriorated.
Their bodies were discovered by a caretaker in their gated community, with Hackman lying inside their house’s entrance.
Arakawa was found unresponsive in their bathroom, alongside a deceased dog and scattered pills on the floor.
The post Gene Hackman & Betsy Arakawa’ Autopsy Results Confirm Reasons For Mysterious Deaths appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
