Gene Hackman and Wife Real Causes Of Death Revealed

These are the causes of the deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa.

GENE HACKMAN and WIFE – The couple died a week apart, and here are some key details about their deaths according to the authorities.



Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman and his wife, classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, were found dead in their house in New Mexico. The reports about their deaths saddened a lot of people, and initially, the authorities saw no foul play was involved.

Gene Hackman and Wife

Hackman and his wife’s death stirred confusion among the authorities. There were some key details they were looking at as they investigated the case.

Among the suspicious details were:

  • “a healthy dog running loose on the property, another healthy dog near the deceased female, a deceased dog laying 10-15 feet from the deceased female in a closet of the bathroom”
  • “the heater being moved”
  • “the pill bottle being opened and pills scattered next to the female”
  • “the male decedent being located in a separate room of the residence”
  • “no obvious signs of a gas leak”
  • they were dead for some time before they were discovered, as the body of Arakawa had a bloated face and was in a mummified state when found
  • Hackman was in a separate room off the kitchen – fully clothed and speculated to have fallen down, considering how his things, such as his cane and eyeglasses, were positioned beside him

Recently, the investigators finally pointed out the causes of their deaths, and accordingly, they died a week apart. The once-mysterious deaths of the couple was finally answered and clarified.

The couple died of natural causes. Autopsies revealed that Hackman died on February 18, the last date his pacemaker recorded his heartbeat. He was hypertensive and died of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. He also had Alzheimer’s disease, which, according to the medical investigator, was “a significant contributory factor”.

A postmortem CT scan of the 95-year-old actor also showed that he had a severe heart disease and chronic high blood pressure.

As for Arakawa, she died first due to hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. This is caused by a virus from infected rodents, a rare disease that can infect humans. There were pills found beside her and those pills have nothing to do with her death. The pills were her thyroid medication.

Carbon monoxide poisoning was ruled out before to be the cause of their deaths.

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