As the investigation into the deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, more details about the couple’s final days have surfaced.
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Dr. Josiah Child, a former emergency care specialist who runs Cloudberry Health in Santa Fe, New Mexico, revealed to the Daily Mail that he had spoken to Gene Hackman’s wife the day before she allegedly died.
The Santa Fe medical examiner confirmed that an autopsy revealed Arakawa died of hantavirus, a rare rat-borne respiratory disease. It is believed that she died on Feb. 11.
“She’d called me a couple of weeks before her death to ask about getting an echocardiogram [heart scan] for her husband,” Child said. “She was not a patient of mine, but one of my patients recommended Cloudberry to her. She made an appointment for herself for Feb. 12. It was for something unrelated to anything respiratory.”
Child further revealed that Gene Hackman’s wife canceled her appointment two days before she was due to see him. She said her husband was not well.
“She called back on the morning of February 12 and spoke to one of our doctors who told her to come in that afternoon,” Child also pointed out. “We made her an appointment, but she never showed up. She did not show any symptoms of respiratory distress. The appointment wasn’t for anything related to hantavirus. We tried calling her a couple of times with no reply.’
Child believes that Gene Hackman’s wife could have been alive for a least a day longer than the coroner’s office claims. She had been discovered on the bathroom floor of the couple’s Santa Fe residence. She had been surrounded by pills.
Gene Hackman Was Discovered 20 Feet From His Wife
Hackman was found on the floor of a utility room just 20 feet away. His pacemaker showed he died on Feb. 18.
The autopsy also revealed he had no food in his stomach. Investigators further believe that due to the actor’s Alzheimer’s, he may not have realized that his wife was dead.
Sadly, one of their dogs, who was in its crate recovering from a recent surgery, had died from starvation and dehydration.
Speaking about Gene Hackman’s wife and her condition, Child added, “I am not a hantavirus expert, but most patients who have that diagnosis die in hospital. It is surprising that Mrs Hackman spoke to my office on the phone on Feb. 10 and again on Feb. 12 and didn’t appear in respiratory distress.”