MYSTERY continues to surround deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife as investigators confirm they are looking into “loopholes”.
Officials revealed the causes of death of the 95-year-old actor and 65-year-old Betsy Arakawa on Friday, but Sheriff Adan Mendoza says there are still questions to be answered before closing the case.
The haunting details about the couple’s tragic last days were announced by a New Mexico medical examiner who revealed the actor died days after his wife from cardiac disease.
Arakawa, is believed to have died first on February 11 from a rare rodent disease called hantavirus pulmonary syndrome.
Hantavirus spreads when exposed to rodents’ urine, droppings, and saliva, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
But, while many questions have now been answered, Sheriff Mendoza said in a press conference that cops are still looking into the case to close “the loopholes.”
“We consider this an open investigation until we close the loopholes of the cell phones, until we finish out the necropsy results of the canine and the other loose ends that we need to tie up,” he said.
One of the couple’s dogs, Zinna, was also found dead at the property in a crate in a closet in the bathroom “10 to 15 feet” away from Arakawa’s body.
Their other two dogs, Bear and Nikita, were found alive but distressed at the property, police said.
Zinna had undergone a procedure at a local veterinary hospital “which may explain why the dog was in a crate,” the Sheriff said, as they wait to hear of its cause of death.
“But you know, I think we’re pretty close to the timeline and with the information that Dr. Jarrell provided,” Mendoza added.
It is possible the dog died from dehydration or starvation as canines do not get sick from hantavirus.
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The two-time Academy Award winner who had “advanced Alzheimer’s disease” was in the sole care of his wife.
After her death, he was left alone in their four-bedroom Santa Fe home for seven days before he died around February 18.
This was when the last signal from the actor’s pacemaker was recorded.
He tested negative for hantavirus, Chief Medical Investigator Dr. Heather Jarrell revealed.
She said that due to the extent of his Alzheimer’s, it is possible that Hackman was unaware his wife was dead.
What is hantavirus?
GENE Hackman’s wife Betsy Arakawa died from the rare infectious disease called hantavirus pulmonary syndrome.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), hantavirus pathogens are mainly spread between rodents.
In very rare cases, the disease can be passed to humans and cause varied disease syndromes.
These include hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS).
The CDC said: “Each hantavirus serotype has a specific rodent host species and is spread to people via aerosolised virus that is shed in urine, feces, and saliva, and less frequently by a bite from an infected host.”
Dr Sumaiya Shaikh, a Swedish scientist, tweeted: “The #Hantavirus first emerged in 1950s in the American-Korean war in Korea (Hantan river).
“It spreads from rat/mice if humans ingest their body fluids.
“Human-human transmission is rare. Please do not panic, unless you plan to eat rats.”
While hantavirus is rare, it carries a 38 per cent death rate according to the CDC.
No one knew of their fates until February 26 when a neighborhood caretaker called 911 after finding the couple in their home.
Hackman was found collapsed in the home’s mudroom with his sunglasses and a cane nearby.
A search warrant revealed that cops noted the legendary actor looked like he fell to the ground suddenly.
Investigators are awaiting cell phone records from the couple’s phones though it is “very unlikely” they will bring anything to light that authorities do not already know, the Sheriff said.
He added that there is no evidence that Hackman communicated with anyone in the week before his death.
“I don’t know if he used cell phones or technology or emails, there’s no indication of that,” he told reporters.
“So right now there is no activity from Mr. Hackman.”
BETSY’S FINAL DAYS
But investigators retrieved communications from his wife, who was a concert pianist, detailing her final days.
Officers found that she had picked up Zinna from Gruda Veterinary Hospital on February 9 and had spoken with her massage therapist via email around 11:20 the morning of the day she died.
“Moving on into the afternoon, Ms. Arakawa was at the Sprouts farmers market between 3:30 and 4:15 p.m.,” Mendoza said.
About five minutes later, CCTV footage captured her at the local CVS Pharmacy.
Other emails were left unopened on February 11 and the Sheriff said “there was no additional outgoing communication from her, or known activity, after Feb. 11, 2025.”
The “cellphone information and the cell phone data is pending”, he added before cops close the investigation.
The Sheriff said that the information that may be gathered from Betsy’s cell phone could indicate when she started feeling unwell which could have been “roughly three to six days” before she died.
The medical examiner said the actor’s wife would have “succumbed pretty quickly after fluid began to build up in the lungs.”
“I think the cellphones may have some indications of that prior to the 11th,” Mendoza said.
“But as of this moment, I don’t have any information that she was indicating that she was feeling ill during any communication.”
INITIAL MYSTERY
Arakawa was found lying in the bathroom with an open bottle of pills scattered on the counter near her body, cops said.
While officials didn’t specify which medicine it was, court records show cops took thyroid medication, diltiazem medication, and Tylenol from the house, according to ABC affiliate KOAT-TV.
Jarrell confirmed that the thyroid medication had been prescribed to Arakawa and wasn’t considered a factor in her death.
The investigation was shrouded in mystery and confusion when initial autopsy reports revealed the couple had no obvious wounds on their bodies when they died.
The reports also ruled out carbon monoxide and gas leaks as a potential cause of death.
When cops arrived at the $3.8 million mansion, they found the door ajar, but there weren’t any signs of forced entry or foul play.
The couple was extremely private in their final years, living in a cul-de-sac of their gated community.
Hackman is survived by two daughters and a son from a previous marriage.
Gene Hackman’s family’s full statement
Gene Hackman’s family has spoken out on the actor’s death after he was found dead with his wife, Betsy Arakawa, in their Santa Fe home.
Hackman’s daughters, Elizabeth and Leslie, and his granddaughter, Annie, released the statement.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy,” Elizabeth, Leslie, and Annie Hackman said.
“He was loved and admired by millions around the world for his brilliant acting career, but to us he was always just Dad and Grandpa.
“We will miss him sorely and are devastated by the loss.”
