Gene Hackman’s home was in disarray when he died, covered in loose items and food while infested with rats, creating a breeding ground for the deadly virus that killed his wife.
Shocking new photos and video from inside the couple’s New Mexico home show the disarray inside when police found the couple dead.
Officers found Hackman, his wife Betsy Arakawa and their dog dead on February 26. Arakawa died of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, while Hackman survived for a week on his own before dying on February 18 from heart disease complicated by Alzheimer’s. Their dog, Zinnia, likely died of dehydration and starvation.
As the officers walked around the home of the Oscar winner, their body cameras captured clothes, bags and other various items piled high on the floor, chairs and countertops. The bathroom was chaotic, with items strewn across the vanity, while loose food appeared to have been left on the kitchen counter.
The footage shows police entering the home and discovering Arakawa’s body near a bathroom, while Zinnia’s body was crated. There were also two surviving dogs, and an officer remarked one appeared to be “guarding her” and seemed “pretty friendly.”
Police then found Gene's body in the estate’s mudroom.
Authorities also found dead rats, rat feces and nests throughout the eight buildings that make up their estate, making their home a potential breeding ground for hantavirus.
Hantavirus can only be spread to humans through animals, not from person to person. Victims catch the virus from contact with rat urine, feces and saliva. The virus is rare, with only 864 cases reported in the U.S from 1993 through 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Arakawa spent her last days searching the internet for information about flu-like symptoms — which hantavirus can cause — and breathing techniques.
Investigators’ review of her computer showed Arakawa was searching medical conditions related to COVID-19 and the flu between February 8 and the morning of February 12, including whether COVID-19 could cause dizziness or nosebleeds.
Arakawa then searched for a concierge medical service on February 12. She called a local service and spoke on the phone for 2 minutes. She missed a return call later that afternoon.
Arakawa was last seen on February 11. Hackman is believed to have died a week later.
A pair of maintenance workers didn't find the bodies until February 26 and called police. The pair told the officers that they hadn’t seen the homeowners in about two weeks. Despite the couple’s fame they chose to ditch the bright lights of Hollywood, instead living in the cluttered New Mexico home.
The deaths were initially not suspected to involve foul play, but were then determined ‘suspicious’ and investigations continued.
Police found Arakawa near and open pill bottle and a space heater. They theorized that she may have fallen and suddenly hit the floor. Arakawa’s body “showed obvious signs of death, body decomposition, bloating in her face and mummification in both hands and feet,” according to a police warrant.
The actor was discovered on the ground near the kitchen in a “mudroom” and he appeared to have fallen. A cane and sunglasses were found on the ground nearby.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza told the media later that there were no signs of a struggle and that the pair had no external trauma.
“There was no indication of anything that was missing from the home or disturbed that would be an indication that there was a crime that had occurred,” Mendoza said.
Testing and observation of the house’s systems from the Santa Fe Fire Department and New Mexico Gas Company did not reveal immediate signs of a leak. Both tested negative for carbon monoxide poisoning.
Medical examiners then said the couple died from natural causes, with Arakawa dying from hantavirus and Hackman suffering numerous health conditions.
Since retiring from acting in 2004, Hackman had been open about his health struggles, revealing in 2009 that his doctor wanted him to quit Hollywood due to the stress on his heart.
Hackman told Empire: “The straw that broke the camel’s back was actually a stress test that I took in New York. The doctor advised me that my heart wasn’t in the kind of shape that I should be putting it under any stress.”
