GENE Hackman tragically lived alongside his wife’s body likely not knowing she was dead – as officials have revealed the actor’s sad final days.
The actor, 95, died from heart disease around a week after his wife was killed by a rare rodent disease, a medical examiner said at a press release on Friday afternoon.
The triple-death tragedy in the Hackman home was shrouded in mystery, with the bodies of Gene, his wife Betsy Arakawa, and their dog all found in different rooms.
Foul play was ruled out from the start, and today police shone light on the tragic timeline.
They said that Betsy, 65, was the first to die – on roughly February 11.
The authorities think she contracted a potentially-fatal disease called hantavirus, which is spread by infected rodent droppings.
Gene suffered from severe Alzheimers so lacked the capacity to alert authorities about his wife’s death.
He lived on for a full week in the same house as his wife’s body, before succumbing to heart disease on around February 18.
Analysis from his pacemaker revealed this was the last time cardiac activity was recorded.
His body was found with no food in his stomach, suggesting he had been unable to feed himself.
However, he showed no signs of dehydration, investigators said, so he was at least drinking fluids.
Chief Medical Investigator Dr Heather Jarrell said it’s possible that Gene was not even aware his wife was lying dead in their home.
She said: “Mr Hackman showed evidence of advanced Alzheimer’s disease. He was in a very poor state of health.
“He had significant heart disease, and I think ultimately that’s what resulted in his death.”
Jarrell added: “There is no reliable method to determine time or date of death, but it is probably likely Mr Hackman died around February 18.
“And based on circumstances, it is reasonable to conclude Ms Hackman died first, with February 11 the last time she was known to be alive.”
Symptoms of hantavirus infection include fever, muscle aches and coughing, which can progress to shortness of breath and heart or lung failure.
It is not transferable between humans.
Officials found Gene lying in the entryway with his cane and sunglasses near his body.
Near the front of the house, Betsy was found lying in the bathroom, surrounded by an open prescription bottle and scattered pills.
And one of the couple’s three German Shepherd dogs was also found dead in the bathroom’s closet.
An early theory was that carbon monoxide poisoning had killed the couple and their canine, but that was debunked last week by negative chemical tests.
Authorities said last week that the deaths were “suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation”.
Adan Mendoza, Santa Fe County Sheriff, also outlined
The couple were found dead in different rooms of their house last monthGetty Read More Details
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