In February last year, Hollywood icon Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead along with one of their dogs at their home. A shocking health assessment found dead rodents and nests on the property that led to a shocking cause of death
The residence where Hollywood icon Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found dead in February last year, was discovered to have harboured rats infected with a deadly virus. The couple were discovered deceased alongside one of their pets at their Santa Fe, New Mexico, property on February 26 last year.
Double Academy Award winner Hackman, 95, is believed to have been alone in the house with his wife’s body for approximately a week before his own death, Santa Fe’s sheriff revealed at a news conference last month.
Post-mortem results showed Ms Arakawa, also known as Betsy Hackman, 65, succumbed to hantavirus pulmonary syndrome – an uncommon yet potentially deadly illness transmitted to humans via contaminated rodent faeces or saliva. A pathologist confirmed Hackman died from cardiac disease roughly a week following Arakawa’s death from the rare infectious condition.
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An inspection conducted by the New Mexico Department of Public Health seven days after the bodies were found uncovered deceased rodents and their nests across ‘eight detached outbuildings’ on the Hackman estate, creating a ‘breeding ground’ for the fatal hantavirus, TMZ reported.
The dangerous hantavirus commonly spreads through rodent urine and faeces that people may encounter whilst cleaning spaces such as basements or lofts. Droppings were found in three garages, two casitas, and three sheds across the grounds.
According to the American publication, health inspectors found a live rodent, a dead rodent and evidence of rodent nesting in three separate garages at the property. The inspection was undertaken to safeguard first responders and any other individuals who might need to enter the premises from potential viral exposure.
The assessment revealed that the main house posed ‘low-risk’, showing no signs of rodent presence indoors. Scientists first documented the hantavirus in South Korea back in 1978 after isolating it from a field mouse.
Cases of the virus remain rare across the US, with fewer than 50 instances recorded each year. By comparison, approximately 2,000 West Nile Virus cases are documented annually in America.
Yet after Ms Arakawa’s passing, three further fatalities linked to the virus occurred in Mammoth Lakes, California. Speaking at a Santa Fe press conference in March, Dr Heather Jarrell, New Mexico’s chief medical examiner, stated it was “reasonable to conclude” that Ms Hackman succumbed to hantavirus pulmonary syndrome on February 11 at the couple’s Santa Fe residence.
Hackman died a week afterwards on February 18 from “hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer’s disease as a significant contributory factor”, the specialist confirmed. When questioned whether this indicated the actor had remained at home alongside his deceased wife for seven days before his own death, Santa Fe County sheriff Adan Mendoza responded: “Yes, I would assume that that is the case.”
Dr Jarrell revealed: “Hackman showed evidence of advanced Alzheimer’s disease. He was in a very poor state of health. He had significant heart disease, and I think ultimately that is what resulted in his in his death.”
Detectives previously disclosed that Hackman’s body was discovered in a mud room, whilst his wife was found collapsed on a bathroom floor. Mr Mendoza stated last month that Ms Arakawa collected their dog Xena, who was later discovered dead alongside the couple, from the vet’s on February 9.
“There was a procedure that was done with the dog, which may explain why the dog was in a crate at the residence,” Mr Mendoza told journalists. CCTV captured Ms Arakawa’s car at approximately 4.54pm on February 11, and the remote control clicker assigned to her and her vehicle was used to enter the subdivision and access the gated community, the sheriff confirmed.
He explained: “At 5.15pm, numerous emails were unopened on her computer on February 11. There was no additional outgoing communication from her or known activity after February 11.”
Analysis of Hackman’s pacemaker previously indicated he was alive on February 17 when a “last event” was logged, nine days before the couple’s bodies were found. Dr Jarrell informed journalists at the press conference: “Mr Hackman’s initial pacemaker data revealed cardiac activity on February 17, with subsequent pacemaker interrogation demonstrating an abnormal rhythm of atrial fibrillation on February 18, which was the last record of heart activity.
“Based on this information, it is reasonable to conclude that Mr Hackman probably died around February 18. Based on the circumstances, it is reasonable to conclude that Ms Hackman died first with February 11 being the last time that she was known to be alive.”
The doctor explained further: “Lastly, clinically, hantavirus infection is characterised by flu-like symptoms consisting of fever, muscle aches, cough, and sometimes vomiting that can progress to shortness of breath and cardiac or heart failure and lung failure.”
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