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 announced Friday.
Investigators had been trying to determine a cause of death for the couple since they were found dead in their home on Feb. 26.
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.
Arakawa likely died first, with Feb. 11 being the last time that she was known to be alive, Jarrell 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 particular mouse species that carries the virus. The various strains in the U.S. aren’t transmissible from person to person, Jarrell said.
An 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.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan 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.
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.
