Betsy Arakawa, a concert pianist and the wife of late actor Gene Hackman, died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, according to a final autopsy report released Tuesday.
The report, made public two days after Hackman’s autopsy findings, detailed that Arakawa’s lungs were “heavy and congested,” with fluid buildup in her chest and mild hardening of the blood vessels supplying her heart and body, confirming an earlier positive test result for hantavirus.
Hantavirus is a rare but potentially deadly disease transmitted through the droppings, saliva, or urine of infected rodents. It does not spread between humans. The New Mexico Department of Health found rodent droppings in outbuildings on the couple’s property, though no evidence of rodents was discovered inside their home, which was described as clean.
Arakawa, 65, tested negative for COVID-19 and influenza, and her autopsy found no signs of trauma. Her carbon monoxide levels were within a normal range, and toxicology reports indicated the presence of caffeine but no alcohol or intoxicating drugs.
Gene Hackman’s autopsy, released on Sunday, determined that the 95-year-old Oscar-winning actor died from heart disease and was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Hackman had not eaten for an extended period before his death and tested negative for hantavirus.
On the morning of Feb. 12, Arakawa sought a concierge medical service in Santa Fe and contacted the service but missed a return call. In an email to her massage therapist, she wrote that Hackman had woken up with “cold or flu symptoms” but had tested negative for COVID-19, and that she would reschedule her appointment “out of an abundance of caution.”
The release of the autopsy and investigative records followed a court order, after the Hackman estate and family sought to keep the documents private. Media organizations agreed not to release images of the couple’s bodies.
