 "Actor Gene Hackman died of natural causes, his wife Arakawa of viral infection a week ago: Investigator")
Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, died of natural causes, a New Mexico medical investigator said, citing autopsy results.
According to autopsy results released on Friday in New Mexico, Hackman was in an advanced state of Alzheimer’s and died of heart disease and other factors, likely days after his wife, Betsy Arakawa, died of a rare syndrome spread by mice.
The 95-year-old Oscar-winning actor, 64-year-old Arakawa, and their dog were found dead in different rooms of their Santa Fe home on February 26.
The autopsy report stated that Hackman’s wife died days before he did.
Alzheimer’s prevented Hackman from realising his wife’s death
Reporters asked Sheriff Adan Mendoza if Hackman’s Alzheimer’s prevented him from realising his wife’s death. “I would assume so,” Mendoza said in response.
Heather Jarrell, chief medical investigator in New Mexico, said, “It’s quite possible he didn’t know she had passed away.”
Authorities said on Friday that Arakawa is believed to have died around February 11, citing the last email she sent.
The sheriff said a pathologist found that Hackman had a pacemaker, which sent its last signal on February 17, likely the day he passed away.
Hackman and Arakawa had been living in their Santa Fe home since the 1980s and were active in the city’s art community and culinary scene.
In recent years, their public appearances in town became less frequent as his health deteriorated.
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Hantavirus is rare in the US, with most cases found in western states like New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Utah. Deer mice spread the virus through their droppings and urine. People can catch it by breathing in dust while cleaning areas like closets or drawers where mice have lived.
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