Gene Hackman She may not have realized that his wife Betsy Arakawa Hackman had been dead over the last weeks because of his advanced Alzheimer’s, according to Forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden.
The legendary actor died due to hypertensive cardiovascular disease atherosclerosis, with Alzheimer’s disease as a significant factor that contributed, New Mexico officials confirmed on Friday.
Hackman probably survived alone in the house for about a week, until he died around February 18, which was the last activity recorded on his lady.
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Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa were married in 1991. (Donaldson Collection/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
“I mean [happened] Here’s that he didn’t understand that and … he didn’t understand that she was dead. Did not understand that he should call 911, ” Dr. Baden said Fox News Digital.
“It sounds like he was wandering somehow, he was able to drink water from … [the] Kitchen sink or even remove the food from the refrigerator … [he] I probably couldn’t cook anything, but he could eat bread or something if he was hungry, “he explained.
Hackman’s wife, a classic pianist, died because of Hantavirus pulmonary syndromewhich is transferred from animals to humans and is usually located in rodents, the Ministry of Health confirmed in Novi Mexico. Her autopsy designated a way of death as natural. Authorities believe she died on February 11 or roughly.
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Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home Santa Fe, New Mexico 26. February. (Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Leading to their mysterious death, the acting wife seemed to be the main guardian of Hackman, according to Dr. Baden.
“Looks like she took really good care of him,” he noticed. “She goes first and then … pointing to the evidence presented about six, seven days – 11 to 17. – when they are [knew] That something [had] It happened to him. “
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Chief medical investigator Dr. Heather Jarrell performed full autopsy on Hackman the day after his body was discovered, which showed “severe heart disease, including more surgical procedures involving heart, evidence of previous heart attacks and severe kidney changes due to chronic high blood pressure.”
The law officials talk outside the house of actor Gene Hackman on Thursday, February 27, 2025 in Santa Feu, New Mexico. Hackman, his wife Betsy Arakawa and their wife were found dead in the house the day before. (AP Photo/Roberto Rosales)
She added: “The brain test showed the advanced Alzheimer’s disease, as well as changes in blood vessels in the brain secondary with chronic high blood pressure.”
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Jarrell noted that the data of Hackman’s Paysmeker indicated the “abnormal rhythm of atrial fibrillation” on February 18th. She said it was “reasonable to conclude” Arakawa died a week before the hackman, and the acting death probably on February 18th.
“Based on circumstancesit is reasonable to conclude that [Arakawa] She passed away first, with the last time she was known to be alive on February 11, “Jarrell said.
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Fox News Digital Medical Associate, Dr. Marc Siegel, added that if Hackman’s Alzheimer’s “serious,” he would not realize that his wife was dead.
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The entrance to the closed door community in which actor Gene Hackman, his wife Betsy Arakawa and their dog were found dead in their home, was shown on Thursday, February 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Roberto Rosales)
“If he was unable to call 911, and see her and only sat there for a week, or he went into a state of great despair or somehow was disabled,” Dr. Siegel noted. “Or his Alzheimer was so serious that he was unable to notice what was going on.”
In the meantime, when asked if the authorities believed that Hackman could have lived alone and survive after his wife died, Chief Medical investigator Dr. Jarrell noted that the actor who won an Academy Award in a “very bad health”.
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Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa Hackman were discovered dead in their home in Santa Feu, New Mexico, February 26. (Urschke/Ullstein Bild via Getty Images)
“Mr. Hackman showed evidence of an advanced Alzheimer’s disease,” Jarrell said. “I’m not aware of what his normal daily ability to function was. He was in a very poor state of health and had significant heart disease. And I think that ultimately resulted in his death.”
Detectives have initially described Death of the couple “Substantially in nature that it requires a thorough search and an investigation,” the search order that received Fox News Digital states.
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Officials have confirmed that no external trauma has been noticed at Hackman or Arakawa, and the New Mexico authorities immediately launched a criminal investigation into their death.
Hackman and Arakawa had previously tested negatively on carbon monoxide, Sheriff Adan Mendoza confirmed last week. Their residence was tested for a painless odorless gas, and the Santa Fe Santa Fe fire unit cleaned it after the authorities failed to find evidence of leakage of carbon monoxide or poisoning.
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Tracy Wright and Ashley Pope contributed to Tracy Wright and Ashley Pope.
