ACTOR Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa’s causes of death have been revealed after the longtime couple were found dead in their sprawling mansion on February 26.
Hackman died of heart failure, while his wife Betsy died of natural causes from a virus she got from rodent feces, a New Mexico medical examiner announced on Friday.
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The two-time Academy Award-winning actor, 95, is believed to have died around February 18, the medical examiner added.
Dr. Heather Jarrell, the state’s chief medical examiner, identified Hackman’s cause of death as hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiac disease.
An autopsy result revealed Hackman also had advanced Alzheimer’s, which “significantly contributed” to his death.
Meanwhile, Betsy, 65, was believed to have died first with February 11 being the last time she was known to be alive.
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Betsy’s cause of death was said to be hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, which is caused from contact with rodents like rats and mice.
The virus spreads when exposed to rodents urine, droppings, and saliva, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Symptoms include fever, chills, cough, headaches, gastrointestinal problems, headaches, muscle aches and fatigue.
New Mexico Sheriff Manny Gonzalez said it appeared Betsy’s body was in the house for a week while Hackman was living in the house until his death about a week later.
The medical examiner said that because of Hackman’s advanced Alzheimer’s, it is possible he did not know his wife was dead.
Hackman’s autopsy did not find evidence of internal or external trauma.
The heartbreaking news comes after initial autopsy reports revealed the couple had no obvious wounds on their bodies when they died.
The initial report also ruled out carbon monoxide and gas leaks as a potential cause of death.
However, bizarre factors emerged when cops rushed to the scene after a neighborhood caretaker called 911 when he found Hackman and Arakawa unmoving in their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
“I’m not inside the house. It’s closed. It’s locked. I can’t go in. But I see them. She’s laying face down on the floor from the window,” the panicked caller told dispatchers.
However, when cops arrived at the $3.8 million mansion, they found the door ajar, but there weren’t any signs of forced entry.
Officials found Hackman, 95, lying in a mudroom with his cane and sunglasses near his body.
A search warrant revealed that cops noted the legendary actor looked like he fell to the ground suddenly.
Near the front of the house, Arakawa was found lying in the bathroom.
An open bottle of pills was scattered on the bathroom 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.
One of the couple’s three German Shepherd dogs was also found dead in the bathroom’s closet.
The other two dogs were found healthy on the couple’s 12-acre property.
The Santa Fe Fire Department didn’t initially find any signs of a carbon monoxide leak or poisoning in the house.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza initially said there weren’t any signs of foul play at the scene.
However, he also said he wasn’t ruling anything out.
Officials ordered carbon monoxide and toxicology tests for each of them.
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