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The causes of death for Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa Hackman were released over a week after they were found dead in their Santa Fe, N.M., home on Wednesday, Feb. 26. But the investigation into their deaths will continue.
Dr. Heather Jarrell, the chief medical investigator at the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator, announced on Friday, March 7, that Betsy died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, while Gene likely died from a combination of severe heart disease, high blood pressure and advanced Alzheimer’s disease. Betsy appeared to die first on Feb. 11. The Oscar-winning actor didn’t die until a week later. She was 65 and he was 95.
Despite the new findings, authorities are still continuing their investigation to close a few more “loopholes,” Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said in a Friday press conference.
Mendoza said the investigation will look further into what was on Gene and Betsy’s cellphones, as well as the necropsy results that will help determine how their dog died.
“But you know, I think it’s … I think we’re pretty close to the timeline, and with the information that Dr. Jarrell provided,” he added.
The Hackmans were found dead in their Santa Fe home on Feb. 26 in advanced states of decomposition. Authorities were called to the scene after a pest control worker called a neighborhood security officer when he stopped by the couple’s home, and they didn’t answer. The officer called 911 when he saw the bodies through a window.
The late actor was found in a mudroom of the house, while the late concert pianist was found collapsed in a bathroom near a space heater and scattered pills, according to a search warrant affidavit reviewed by PEOPLE.
The couple’s dog, Zinna, was found dead a few feet away from Betsy and crated in a closet. Two other dogs were found alive on the sprawling property.
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The last activity on Gene’s pacemaker was registered on Feb. 17; Jarrell said it is “reasonable to conclude” Hackman, who had no food in his stomach at the time of his death, died the following day. However, Hackman showed no signs of dehydration.
Mendoza said that Betsy’s last outward communication, via email, appeared to occur nearly a week before Gene’s death, on Feb. 11. “It is reasonable to conclude that Ms. Hackman passed first,” said Jarrell.
Betsy died from hantavirus, a flu-like virus transmitted to humans via rodent urine, saliva and droppings. Erin Phipps, a veterinarian with the New Mexico Health Department, said Hantavirus cases are relatively rare but fatal in up to 42% of cases in New Mexico. Phipps said there have been less than 10 cases of hantavirus in the state in the last five years.
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