Gene Hackman Died of Heart Disease and Alzheimer’s a Week After Betsy Arakawa; Wife’s Cause of Death Determined to Be Hantavirus
variety.comGene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Gene Hackman likely died about a week after his wife, Betsy Arakawa, passed away 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 died of natural causes, which 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.
Read more on variety.com
