A physician 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 canines have been discovered lifeless of their dwelling in New Mexico on February 26, with the preliminary suspicion being that they died as a result 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 as a result 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 physician now including one other angle to the thriller.
On Saturday, Dr. Josiah Baby instructed the Daily Mail that officers have been unsuitable about Arakawa’s day of loss of life.
He stated, “Mrs. Hackman did not die on February 11 as a result of she known as my clinic on February 12.”
Baby, 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 loss of life 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 helpful Cloudberry to her.”
He additionally stated, “She made an appointment for herself for February 12. It was for one thing unrelated to something respiratory.”
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Dr. Josiah Baby Says Betsy Arakawa Canceled Her February 12 Appointment

The physician stated 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 instructed her to return in that afternoon.”
Dr. Baby stated, “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 instances with no reply.”
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Dr. Baby Would not Assume Hantavirus Precipitated Gene Hackman’s Spouse’s Demise

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 worrying state of affairs.
Nonetheless, Dr. Baby can be disputing that hantavirus is the reason for Arakawa’s loss of life as she confirmed no indicators of “respiratory misery.”
He stated, “I’m not a hantavirus professional however most sufferers who’ve that analysis die in hospital. It’s shocking that Mrs. Hackman spoke to my workplace on the cellphone 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 forged extra doubt on hantavirus being the reason for Arakawa’s demise.
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They stated, “Medical professionals are all scratching their heads over hantavirus as the reason for loss of life. Respiratory failure will not be 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 bother respiration. It is exceedingly uncommon for a seemingly wholesome 65-year-old to drop lifeless of it. In reality, nobody’s heard of such a factor.”
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Betsy Arakawa’s Remaining Days
On February 11, 2025, Arakawa, 65, reportedly carried out her typical actions, visiting a grocery retailer, pharmacy, and pet meals store earlier than returning dwelling to Santa Fe.
Authorities consider 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 probably unaware of his spouse’s loss of life. His pacemaker knowledge recorded coronary heart exercise on February 17, with an irregular rhythm on February 18, suggesting he handed away that day as a result 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 loss of life, 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 individuals 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.”