A New Mexico doctor claimed that Gene Hackman’s wife called his office a day after police said she died.
Officials said pianist Betsy Arakawa, 65, died on February 11 of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, while Hackman, 95, died eight days later of heart disease. However, Dr. Josiah Child, who runs Cloudberry Health in New Mexico, told the Daily Mail that Arakawa called his office on February 12 to schedule an appointment.
Child said the appointment was unrelated to pulmonary issues, which are common in hantavirus patients.
READ: Gene Hackman Died of Heart Disease, While Wife Betsy Arakawa Had Hantavirus
A couple of weeks before her death, Arakawa reportedly called Child’s office to schedule a heart scan for Hackman. Child said Arakawa also scheduled an appointment for herself but she canceled two days before the appointment, claiming Hackman was feeling unwell.
“She called back on the morning of February 12 and spoke to one of our doctors who told her to come in that afternoon. 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,” the doctor told the Daily Mail.
Arakawa and Hackman were found dead at their Santa Fe home on February 27. Arakawa was discovered on the bathroom floor, in the same room where pills were scattered on the countertop. Hackman was in the mud room with sunglasses at his side. Zenna, the couple’s kelpie mix, was found dead in a kennel in a bathroom closet near Arakawa’s body. Their two other dogs were found alive on the property.
Heather Jarrell, Office of the Medical Examiner’s Chief Medical Examiner, said Arakawa tested positive for the hantavirus, a rare infectious disease primarily from deer mice. Alzheimer’s disease was listed as a contributing factor in Hackman’s death.
Jarrell said that Arakawa sent an email on February 11 before going to a pet store, pharmacy, and grocery store. Data suggested that was the last day she was known to be alive, according to Jarrell.
Hackman’s pacemaker showed the last date of activity as February 18.
Hackman and Arakawa’s deaths were ruled natural.
Early on, police debunked rumors of carbon monoxide poisoning, noting there was no evidence of a gas leak. They also noted that there were no signs of forced entry despite the front door being open.
Roughly three to four cases of hantavirus are reported annually. In the southwest, the virus is deadly in 38 to 50 percent of cases.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.
[Feature Photo: AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File]