A health care provider has revealed Gene Hackman‘s spouse, Betsy Arakawa, did not die on February 11, as officers declare, as a result of she known as his clinic on February 12.
Hackman, Arakawa, and one in every of their three canine have been discovered useless of their residence in New Mexico on February 26, with the preliminary suspicion being that they died because of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Nonetheless, regulation enforcement officers from Santa Fe County revealed that Arakawa died of Hantavirus on February 11, whereas Hackman died seven days later because of hypertensive atherosclerotic heart problems, with Alzheimer’s being a contributing issue.
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Physician Says Gene Hackman’s Spouse ‘Did not Die On February 11’
The circumstances surrounding Arakawa and Hackman’s deaths proceed to generate confusion, with a health care provider now including one other angle to the thriller.
On Saturday, Dr. Josiah Little one advised the Daily Mail that officers have been flawed about Arakawa’s day of dying.
He mentioned, “Mrs. Hackman did not die on February 11 as a result of she known as my clinic on February 12.”
Little one, a former emergency care specialist who now runs Cloudberry Well being in Santa Fe, defined additional, “She’d known as me a few weeks earlier than her dying to ask about getting an echocardiogram [heart scan] for her husband. She was not a affected person of mine, however one in every of my sufferers really useful Cloudberry to her.”
He additionally mentioned, “She made an appointment for herself for February 12. It was for one thing unrelated to something respiratory.”
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Dr. Josiah Little one Says Betsy Arakawa Canceled Her February 12 Appointment

The physician mentioned Arakawa canceled her appointment two days earlier than she was to see him as a result of Gene Hackman was unwell.
He additionally revealed, “She known as again on the morning of February 12 and spoke to one in every of our docs who advised her to return in that afternoon.”
Dr. Little one mentioned, “We made her an appointment however she by no means confirmed up. She didn’t present any signs of respiratory misery.”
He added, “The appointment wasn’t for something associated to hantavirus. We tried calling her a few occasions with no reply.”
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Dr. Little one Would not Assume Hantavirus Brought on Gene Hackman’s Spouse’s Dying

The physician’s revelations that Arakawa was alive on the day the coroner claimed she died provides one other layer of thriller to an already aggravating scenario.
Nonetheless, Dr. Little one can be disputing that hantavirus is the reason for Arakawa’s dying as she confirmed no indicators of “respiratory misery.”
He mentioned, “I’m not a hantavirus knowledgeable however most sufferers who’ve that prognosis die in hospital. It’s shocking that Mrs. Hackman spoke to my workplace on the telephone on February 10 and once more on February 12 and did not seem in respiratory misery.”
In the meantime, a Los Angeles-based physician spoke to the outlet on Sunday and solid extra doubt on hantavirus being the reason for Arakawa’s demise.
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They mentioned, “Medical professionals are all scratching their heads over hantavirus as the reason for dying. Respiratory failure just isn’t sudden – it’s one thing that worsens over a number of days.”
The physician concluded, “Most individuals get admitted to the ER [emergency room] as a result of they’re having hassle respiration. It is exceedingly uncommon for a seemingly wholesome 65-year-old to drop useless of it. In reality, nobody’s heard of such a factor.”
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Betsy Arakawa’s Ultimate Days
On February 11, 2025, Arakawa, 65, reportedly carried out her standard actions, visiting a grocery retailer, pharmacy, and pet meals store earlier than returning residence to Santa Fe.
Authorities imagine she died that very same day from hantavirus, a uncommon however lethal illness linked to rodent droppings.
Following her passing, there was no additional communication or exercise from her.
Gene Hackman’s Passing and Discovery
Hackman, 95, who suffered from Alzheimer’s illness, was doubtless unaware of his spouse’s dying. His pacemaker information recorded coronary heart exercise on February 17, with an irregular rhythm on February 18, suggesting he handed away that day because of coronary heart illness.
Arakawa and Hackman’s our bodies have been discovered on February 26 when a upkeep employee reported them unresponsive. Authorities dominated each deaths as pure causes—Arakawa from hantavirus and Hackman from coronary heart illness, with Alzheimer’s as a contributing issue.
In the meantime, Bruce Willis’ spouse, Emma Heming Willis, mirrored on the couple’s dying, stressing the necessity to assist caregivers.
She highlighted how Arakawa, Hackman’s caregiver, handed away every week earlier than him, reinforcing the challenges caregivers face.
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Drawing from her personal expertise caring for Bruce, who has frontotemporal dementia, Emma urged folks to acknowledge caregivers’ struggles.
She debunked the parable that caregivers “have all of it found out,” insisting additionally they want care. In an Instagram post, she emphasised, “Caregivers want care too. Interval. Full cease.”