Officials on Friday announced the causes of death for actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, more than a week after the couple’s bodies were found in their New Mexico home.
An autopsy revealed Arakawa died of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a severe respiratory virus contracted through exposure to excrement of an infected mouse, said Dr. Heather Jarrell, chief medical examiner at New Mexico’s Office of the Medical Investigator. Officials said they believe Arakawa likely died on Feb. 11, the last day she sent an outgoing communication.
Hackman’s autopsy revealed he died of hypertensive cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer’s disease as a significant contributing factor, Jarrell said. He tested negative for hantavirus. Officials said they believe he died around Feb. 18.
Hackman and Arakawa both tested negative for carbon monoxide, and neither body had evidence of acute internal or external trauma, Jarrell said.
Hackman, Arakawa and one of their dogs were found dead in their New Mexico home on Feb. 26. The couple’s bodies were discovered by two maintenance workers who said the front door was ajar when they arrived, according to a search warrant.
Hackman, 95, was found in a mudroom, while Arakawa, 65, was found in a bathroom. The dog, reportedly an Australian kelpie mix named Zinna, was found in a closet in the bathroom. Two other dogs were found alive on the property.
Officials are awaiting Zinna’s necropsy results, they said Friday. Arakawa picked up Zinna from a veterinary hospital on Feb. 6 after the dog underwent a procedure, Santa Fe Sheriff Adan Mendoza said at the news conference Friday announcing the couple’s causes of death. Dogs are not known to become infected with hantavirus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.








