What Killed Gene Hackman And His Wife Betsy Arakawa? Autopsy Reveals

One dead actor. One dead wife. One dead dog. When the news broke, many of us were convinced their deaths were a result of foul play.

In fact it aroused the suspicions of authorities enough for them to promise to launch an investigation into the case.

Now we’re learning that they died of natural causes and no human being, or dog in case your mind ever went there, was involved in their deaths.

But if it’s natural, how can one person die a week from the other and no alarm was raised? Science believes they’ve got the answers.

Autopsy Reveals Actor Gene Hackman Died of Alzheimer’s and Severe Heart Disease A Week After Wife Died From Hantavirus

Sometimes the most cryptic of cases have the simplest of answers, though if you asked me, I did consider that some other explanation was probable seeing that Hackman was of an advanced age.

Yeah sure, your grandpas can breakdance at 95, but Hackman already has several underlying health conditions.

According to a medical examiner, the prolific and award-winning actor likely died a week after his wife from a combination of “advanced Alzheimer’s disease” and severe heart disease.

“The cause of death for Mr. Gene Hackman, aged 95 years, is hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer’s disease as a significant contributory factor,” Dr. Jarrell explained in greater detail.

“Autopsy examination and a full body post mortem CT examination demonstrated no acute findings of internal or external trauma, and showed severe heart disease, including multiple surgical procedures involving the heart, evidence of prior heart attacks and severe changes of the kidneys due to chronic high blood pressure.”

Arakawa’s cause of death was put down to Hantavirus, a deadly virus transmitted by mice. As a result, both deaths fall under natural causes.

At a news conference on Friday, March 7, it was revealed via surveillance cameras that Arakwa did errands on Feb. 11, visiting Sprouts market and a CVS pharmacy. She also messaged a massage therapist by email that same day.

She arrived at the gated subdivision where the couple lived around 5:15 p.m. No activity or communication could be found after that date.

It is very likely that Hackman, due to his Alzheimer’s did not realize that his wife was dead, or else he might have raised an alarm. Their bodies were found in different rooms, with the door leading into the house left ajar.

Hackman and his wife were discovered by maintenance men, who noticed the bad odor coming from the house and called officials to investigate.

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