New Mexico officials have announced the cause of death for actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa, a week after they were found dead at their home in Santa Fe. Hackman died of heart disease, with Alzheimer’s disease as a contributing factor, and Arakawa died several days before him of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, Chief Medical Investigator Dr. Heather Jarrell said Friday.
Investigators had been trying to determine a cause of death for the couple since they died in their home last month.
How did Gene Hackman die?
Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 65, were found dead in their home in a gated community in Santa Fe on Feb. 26, but appear to have died earlier in the month.
Hackman likely died around Feb. 18, when the last activity was detected on his pacemaker, Jarrell said during a Friday news conference.
An autopsy determined that Hackman died of heart disease and also suffered from advanced Alzheimer’s. He tested negative for hantavirus.
“He was in a very poor state of health,” Jarrell said. “He had significant heart disease, and I think ultimately that is what resulted in his death.”
Arakawa likely died first, with Feb. 11 being the last time that she was known to be alive, Jarrell said. People with hantavirus infections can initially feel flu-like symptoms for roughly three to six days and then start to have fluid in and around their lungs.
“At that point, a person can die very quickly, within 24-48 hours, roughly speaking, without medical treatment,” Jarrell said. “It’s not uncommon to find someone down on the floor as part of a terminal collapse, so to speak, and that may very well have been what happened.”
Asked if Hackman was aware of his wife’s passing, Jarrell said: “That question’s difficult to answer, but I can tell you that he was in an advanced state of Alzheimer’s and it’s quite possible that he was not aware that she was deceased.”
There was no food in Hackman’s stomach, meaning he had not eaten recently before he died, Jarrell said. She didn’t find evidence of dehydration.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said there was no indication of a caretaker at the home.
What is hantavirus?
Hantaviruses are found worldwide, carried by rodents and transmitted from animals to humans, Dr. Erin Phipps, the state public health veterinarian with the New Mexico Health Department, told reporters Friday. The hantavirus found in New Mexico is found throughout the state, primarily in deer mice but in other rodents too, Phipps said.
The hantavirus strain in the Southwest has a mortality rate of about 38%-50%, Jarrell said. Hantavirus can be contracted from exposure to excrement from a mouse species that carries the virus.
“Avoiding contact with or breathing in aerosolized rodent urine or feces, especially in a poorly ventilated area, is key,” Phipps said.
The various strains in the U.S. aren’t transmissible from person to person.
A hantavirus infection is characterized by flu-like symptoms, including fever, muscle aches, cough and sometimes vomiting and diarrhea that can progress to shortness of breath and heart or lung failure, Jarrell said.
The illness is rare, with the state Health Department reporting there were only seven confirmed cases of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in New Mexico in 2024. In the last 50 years, officials have identified 136 infections in New Mexico residents, including five in Santa Fe County.
“This is a serious disease — 42% of these infections here in New Mexico were fatal,” Phipps said. Most infections occur around the home or workplace, she said.
State health investigators conducted a risk assessment of the couple’s property Wednesday, Phipps said. While the main residence itself was deemed a low risk for hantavirus exposure, signs of rodent entry were found on other structures on the property, she said.
Investigation into Hackman’s and Arakawa’s deaths
Mendoza said last Friday there were no apparent signs of foul play in the deaths. The initial findings from the autopsies found no external trauma on either of the bodies, Mendoza said.
Hackman’s body was found in a mudroom near the kitchen with a cane and sunglasses nearby, according to an affidavit for a search warrant.
The sheriff’s office found medication for blood pressure and thyroid issues as well as Tylenol during a search of the home, according to an inventory of the search filed in court. Some pills were scattered on a bathroom countertop near where Arakawa’s body was found, according to the affidavit. Mendoza wouldn’t say who was prescribed the medication, citing patient privacy laws.
One of the couple’s three dogs also was found dead in a crate near Arakawa, while their two other dogs were found alive. Phipps said the dog may have died from dehydration or starvation. Dogs don’t get sick from hantavirus, she said.
Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
Investigators also collected two cellphones from the home and a monthly planner, Mendoza said. No surveillance cameras had been found at the home, according to the sheriff.
“I think everybody here understands that they were very private individuals and a very private family,” Mendoza said.
The sheriff’s office said Tuesday that the company that provides natural gas service for the home made no significant findings after looking for gas leaks and carbon monoxide, the colorless, odorless gas that can be fatal by depriving people from getting enough oxygen. Mendoza said last Friday that both bodies tested negative for carbon monoxide.
Hackman, who won Oscars for his performances in 1971’s “The French Connection” and the 1992 Western “Unforgiven,” was honored at Sunday’s Academy Awards in Los Angeles.
“He received two Oscars, but more importantly, he won the hearts of film lovers all over the world,” actor Morgan Freeman said of Hackman at the awards ceremony. “Gene always said, ‘I don’t think about legacy. I just hope people remember me as someone who tried to do good work.’ So I think I speak for us all when I say, Gene, you’ll be remembered for that and for so much more.”
Anna Schecter
contributed to this report.
