Re: Gene Hackman, wife and dog found dead in their home in New Mexico

On 2025-03-08 01:20:50 +0000, Robin Miller said:

Your Name wrote:

     Gene Hackman Died of Heart Disease and Alzheimer's a Week After
   Betsy Arakawa; Wife's Cause of Death Determined to Be Hantavirus
   ----------------------------------------------------------------
   Gene Hackman likely died about a week after his wife, Betsy Arakawa,
   died due to hantavirus, a medical examiner announced Friday.
    Hackman died of cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer's disease as
   a significant contributing factor, said Heather Jarrell, the chief
   medical examiner for the New Mexico Office of the Medical
   Investigator.
    Arakawa likely died about a week earlier, on Feb. 11, of hantavirus,
   a potentially fatal virus transmitted by mice. Both deaths fall
   under natural causes, which can include heart disease, stroke,
   cancer, respiratory failure, infections and age-related
   complications.
    Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 65, were found dead on Feb. 26.
   Authorities said at the time they did not suspect foul play.
    At a news conference on Friday, Santa Fe Sheriff Adan Mendoza said
   that surveillance cameras showed that Arakawa did errands on
   Feb. 11, visiting Sprouts market and a CVS pharmacy. She also
   corresponded with a massage therapist by email that day.
    Her car entered the gated subdivision where the couple lived around
   5:15 p.m. No activity or communications were found after that date.
    Hackman had advanced Alzheimer's disease, as well as severe heart
   disease and a history of heart attacks, Jarrell said. He tested
   negative for hantavirus.
    Erin Phipps, the state public health veterinarian, said at the press
   conference that hantavirus infections are very rare. She said that
   out of 136 infections in the state over the last 50 years, 42% were
   fatal. The virus is typically transmitted through rodent excrement.
    Phipps said there were signs of rodent entry in some of the
   buildings on the property, though the risk in the main house was
   "low."
    Hackman's pacemaker registered cardiac activity on Feb. 17. On
   Feb. 18, the pacemaker picked up an abnormal rhythm, which was the
   last recording, suggesting that he died that day.
    Authorities announced last week that the autopsy found that both
   bodies tested negative for carbon monoxide. The New Mexico Gas
   Company also thoroughly checked the home and found no significant
   leaks.
    According to a search warrant affidavit, Arakawa was found dead on
   the bathroom floor. Pills were scattered on the countertop. At the
   press conference, Jarrell said the pills are thyroid medication that
   was being taken as prescribed.
    Hackman was found in a mud room, off the kitchen. It appeared that
   both had fallen to the floor. A dead dog was also found in a closet
   near Arakawa's body, while two other healthy dogs were roaming the
   property. A necropsy on the dog is still pending.
    A maintenance worker called the authorities after finding the door
   left ajar, and deputies went inside and discovered the bodies.
    The deaths were considered "suspicious enough" to warrant further
   investigation. Detectives recovered two cell phones, a monthly
   planner, and some medications during a search of the property.
    Hackman starred in such films as "The French Connection," "The
   Conversation," and "The Royal Tenenbaums." He had lived in Santa Fe
   since the late 1980s, and served on the board of the Georgia
   O'Keeffe Museum. He won Academy Awards for his roles in "The French
   Connection" and "Unforgiven," and retired from acting about 20 years
   ago.
    Arakawa was a former classical pianist who married Hackman in 1991.
   She owned Pandora's, a home furnishings store in Santa Fe, with a
   friend.
  <https://variety.com/2025/film/news/gene-hackman-cause-of-death-died-week-after-wife-1236331489/> 

 So his wife had been dead on the floor for a week but Hackman, due to his "advanced Alzheimer's disease," didn't realize what had happened--and so went about his life, such as it was?
 And she didn't seek medical treatment for her condition?
 How horrible.
 --Robin

She may not have thought it was just a cold / flu. It says above that she visited a pharmacy, so maybe she was getting some sort of cold / flu medicine.
    "Early symptoms, such as fever, dry cough, body aches,
     headaches, diarrhea and abdominal pain, are similar
     to many other viral illnesses."
Once it became more serious, she may not have been able to call for help, and Gene may not have understood what was happening.
    "Symptoms include coughing, shortness of breath and
     fluid in the lungs. The fatal, rapidly progressive
     pulmonary illness can come on very quickly, in hours.
     That, itself, can become fatal on a very short
     timeline,"
:-(