Gene Hackman died of heart disease, about one week after wife died of hantavirus: investigators
SUMMARY
Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa Hackman were found dead in their Santa Fe home on February 26, and now we’ve got answers. New Mexico officials say Hackman, 95, died around February 18 from heart disease—hypertensive atherosclerosis—worsened by advanced Alzheimer’s, confirmed by an autopsy showing severe heart damage and kidney issues. His pacemaker logged its last beat that day. Betsy, they believe, passed about a week earlier, around February 11, from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare rodent-spread illness with a 42% fatality rate in the state. She was last seen shopping that day. The couple, married over 30 years, and one of their dogs were discovered by maintenance workers. At first, cops called it suspicious, but autopsies ruled out trauma or foul play. Tests nixed carbon monoxide fears, though a tiny stove leak and some code violations popped up—nothing lethal.
