Gene Hackman dead at 95: Iconic actor and wife, 63, are found dead with their dog at Santa Fe home. #3

[Joe Friday]

He must have been roaming around the house that whole time she was dead if she died on Feb 11th. Geez

 

[whitelilac]

How awful, Betsy may have died on the 11th, and Gene on the 18th.

 

[Lore Listener]

Gene or betsy? Or both

Sorry, I messed up and hit post too quick. Corrected to say Betsy: hantavirus, Gene: heart attack.

 

[Fabled Automatic]

Betsy was last known to be alive February 11th. Gene likely died on the 18th.

 

[Joe Friday]

Hard to believe she was picking up the dog, going to the drug store on the 11th and died that same day.

 

[arielilane]

@cathyrusson


Medical examiner: Gene Hackman's cause of death was Hypertensive Atherosclerosis Cardiovascular disease with Alzheimer's as a factor.

4:11 PM · Mar 7, 2025

https://twitter.com/x/status/1898119256363221079

 

[Betty P]

How sad. Hantavirus is a very dangerous virus, IIRC. RIP to them both.

ETA: They also said Gene's Alzheimers was advanced.

JMO, its possible she died a few days after Feb 11. She may have developed symptoms after that. Hantavirus has severe symptoms of high fever, body aches, shortness of breath, etc. It seems unlikely she wasn't too ill the last time she was seen.

 

[Leilei]

Sorry, edited to correct: Betsy died of Hantavirus, Gene had heart disease (which we knew) and alzheimer's and had a heart attack of Feb. 18th.

So he was alone and probably very confused for a week...
Breaks my heart :'(

 

[legalmomma]

Just awful thinking of Gene roaming around the house for a week, alone.

 

[arielilane]

Hypertensive Atherosclerosis Cardiovascular

Hypertensive Heart Disease: Symptoms, Causes & Treatment

Hypertensive heart disease includes problems with your heart that can develop if you have high blood pressure but don’t treat it for years.

my.clevelandclinic.org

 

[Joe Friday]

Maybe the Hantavirus is why the pest control was there.

 

[al66pine]

Sheriff's media conference, livestreamed just now.
Arakawa CoD = HANTAVIRUS pulmonary syndrome.

(Like I mentioned a day or two ago, as a possible CoD. As did others as well.)

 

[Firstsnow4]

This is so sad, I wonder how long he was carrying on around the house knowing Betsy was dead. Or whether he fell and was stuck on the floor all that time. So sad to think about. RIP Gene and Betsy, together forever.

 

[whitelilac]

It's what I thought at the beginning, that Betsy died first though I did not even consider hantavirus, was thinking aneurysm or something sudden, but not that Gene died so my days after....

 

[arielilane]

@Angenette5


Medical Examiner says Betsy Hackman died from hantavirus -she likely died before Gene Hackman. Gene Hackman had advanced Alzheimer's disease, according to the medical examiner, which contributed to his death. He also had died from coronary artery disease.


4:14 PM · Mar 7, 2025

https://twitter.com/x/status/1898120120582496737

 

[Lore Listener]

How sad. Hantavirus is a very dangerous virus, IIRC. RIP to them both.

Yep, there are periodic hantavirus outbreaks in the southwest, usually from folks cleaning up rodent droppings.

 

[arielilane]

It's so important to always check on elder people, though Betsy was not old.

 

[formerreddingrunner]

Sheriff's media conference, livestreamed just now.
Arakawa CoD = HANTAVIRUS pulmonary syndrome.

(Like I mentioned a day or two ago, as a possible CoD. As did others as well.)

So sad. Completely tragic.

I grew up in the midwest, I was never afraid of little field mice, but I had a co-worker in Canada, a native American woman (or First Nations) who was absolutely terrified of all mice. She thought they all carried disease.

 

[arielilane]

@CStewartNews


Arakawa died of Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. Authorities say it's a rare disease. In New Mexico...there are only 156 cases over 50 years but 42% of cases were fatal.

What killed Arakawa is a virus that rodents transfer to humans through saliva, droppings, and event air particles. Authorities found evidence rodents were at the Hackman residence.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1898120409377051060

 

[JTribley]

How tragic and awful. A few persons here had spoken about hantavirus. RIP Betsy and RIP Gene! Gene having advanced Alzheimer’s, oh dear.