2. Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman died of natural causes about a week after his wife Betsy Arakawa, who died after she contracted a rare virus.
3. A New Mexico medical investigator said Hackman died from coronary artery disease, and his advanced Alzheimer’s meant it was possible he was not aware his wife had died in their home several days earlier.
4. Arakawa, 65, died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), a serious respiratory illness caused by exposure to infected rodents.
5. Her last known movements were on 11 February, when she was seen going to a farmers market, a pharmacy and a pet store, before returning home in the early evening. Data from Hackman’s pacemaker suggests he died on 18 February.
6. Today’s update from authorities in Sante Fe, where the couple lived together, brings a very sad conclusion to the mystery of how they died.
7. We are finishing our live coverage, but you can read more about the update from authorities at this link.
8. And you can read BBC’s obituary for Gene Hackman here.
11. Image source, Getty Images
12. Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa met at a fitness centre in California where she was working part-time, according to the New York Times.
13. The married in 1991, when Hackman was 61 and Arakawa 31, and lived together in their Santa Fe home in New Mexico.
14. Betsy Arakawa, ran an upmarket furniture store in Santa Fe and was also a classical pianist.
15. Arakawa was Hackman’s second wife, after Faye Maltese whom he married in 1956. The couple had three children but divorced in 1986.
16. Hackman and Arakawa were together for more than 30 years.
19. Noor Nanji
20. Reporting from Los Angeles
21. Image source, Getty Images
22. “He loved being an actor, and hated all the stuff that surrounds being an actor.”
23. That, for film director Barry Sonnenfeld, is how he’ll remember Gene Hackman, who died at the age of 95.
24. The endless hours in hair and makeup, repeated takes, and studio notes all frustrated Hackman, Sonnenfeld told BBC News.
25. So too did actors who showed up not knowing their lines – notably John Travolta, who Hackman clashed with on the set of 1995 film Get Shorty, which Sonnenfeld directed.
26. In the days since the news of Hackman’s death, I spoke to people here in Los Angeles and beyond, who, like Sonnenfeld, knew and worked with him.
27. What’s immediately clear is how seriously Hackman took acting, and how meticulously he dealt with scripts.
28. But what’s also clear is that he was wary of the trappings of Hollywood.
29. Image source, Getty Images
32. Media caption,
33. Watch: Gene Hackman may not have known his wife was dead
34. The couple were discovered on 26 February in the Hyde Park area of Santa Fe, New Mexico after neighbourhood security conducted a welfare check and saw their bodies on the ground through a window.
35. Hackman, 95, was found in a side room near the kitchen of the house, while his wife Betsy Arakawa, a 65-year-old classical pianist, was found in a bathroom.
36. Near Arakawa’s head was a portable heater, which she may have been carrying before she abruptly fell to the ground.
37. A prescription bottle and scattered pills were on the bathroom countertop close to her body. Authorities say the medication was to treat a thyroid condition and they were being taken as per the prescription.
38. The couple’s German Shepherd dog was found dead in a bathroom closet near to Arakawa. The dog’s autopsy results are not yet ready.
39. Hackman was discovered wearing grey tracksuit bottoms, a blue long-sleeve T-shirt and brown slippers. Sunglasses and a walking cane were found next to his body.
40. Medical examiner Dr Heather Jarrell said Hackman was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease, and it’s “quite possible” he was not aware that his wife died a week earlier.
43. As we’ve reported, Betsy Arakawa died as a result of complications from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) – a rare illness transmitted from rodents to humans.
44. What do we know about hantavirus?
45. Transmission: Hantavirus is carried in rodent faeces, urine and saliva. When it dries out and mixes with dust, it can be inhaled by humans, especially in small spaces. The disease can also spread if people touch or eat contaminated substances, or are bitten by an infected animal.
46. Extreme breathing difficulty: Symptoms include headache, fever, shortness of breath, muscle ache and cough. Severe cases can lead to extreme breathing difficulty and death.
47. Diagnosis: According to the US Center for Disease Control (CDC), diagnosing hantavirus in a person who has been infected less than 72 hours is difficult., external Repeat testing is often carried out 72 hours after symptom start.
48. Reducing risk: The CDC adds that eliminating or minimising contact with rodents in your home, workplace or campsite will reduce your risk of exposure to the virus. They advise to place traps in and around your home to decrease rodent infestation.
49. Is this abnormal? Dr Heather Jarrell, during the news conference, said that all hantavirus cases are notified nationally and the US has cases every year. She adds that the post-mortem diagnosis of hantavirus for Arakawa is not an indication of an unusual pattern.
52. Image source, Getty Images
53. We’ve just been hearing from officials in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with an update about the investigation into the deaths of actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa.
54. Here’s what we learned:

• Hackman probably died about a week after his wife, autopsies performed on the couple found
• Officials believe Arakawa died on 11 February from complications caused by hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare but serious respiratory illness caused by exposure to infected rodents
• Hackman is believed to have died a week later on 18 February, according to cardiac data obtained from his pacemaker
• The actor is believed to have died from “significant heart disease”, the medical examiner said
• He was also in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease, she added, and it’s “quite possible” he was not aware that his wife died in the days after
• The results from an autopsy on their dog, which was also found dead with them, are still pending

3. Back now to Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza, who says that officers will consider this an open investigation until they close all the loose ends – including the cause of the dog’s death.
4. He adds that the timeline they have been able to put together answers a lot of questions relating to the deaths of both Hackman and Arakawa.
5. Meanwhile coroner Dr Heather Jarrell adds it is difficult to say that Hackman died of a heart attack, but he could have had an abnormal heart rhythm, and was suffering from extensive heart disease.
6. And that wraps up today’s news conference – stick with us and we’ll recap the top lines shortly.
9. The cause of death for the dog found dead in the home, nearby to Betsy Arakawa, is still to be determined, officials say.
10. Dr Erin Phipps from New Mexico Department of Health says dogs do not get sick from hantavirus – the disease which we now know killed Arakawa.
13. More now from medical examiner Dr Heather Jarrell, who says that a person infected with hantavirus could begin to feel symptoms, including shortness of breath, within three to six days.
14. In late stages of the infection, they will begin to experience fluid in their lungs, she says, and after that an infected person would usually succumb to the disease “pretty quickly”.
15. “I don’t know when [Betsy Arakawa] began to feel ill,” Jarrell says, adding that it may never be known.
16. The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention are aware of the case, she says, adding that there are “no usual patterns”.
19. Image source, Reuters
20. Image caption,
21. Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza says there is no access to video footage
22. There was no outside or interior surveillance at the couple’s home in New Mexico, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza says.
23. This means there is no access to video footage that might have been able shed more light on what happened, or what Hackman’s movements were in the week after his wife’s death, he adds.
26. Media caption,
27. Watch: Gene Hackman may not have known his wife was dead
28. Gene Hackman was on his own in the home for several days, or even an entire week, after his wife died – and medical examiner Dr Heather Jarrell says it is unclear whether he was able to survive on his own without her help.
29. Hackman “showed evidence of advanced Alzheimer’s disease,” she says, adding that she is “not aware of his normal daily functioning capability”.
30. He had “significant heart disease, and ultimately that’s what resulted in his death”, Jarrell says. He had not eaten anything recently, but showed no indications of dehydration, she adds.
31. “Its quite possible that he was not aware that she was deceased.”
34. Image source, Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office/Meta
35. Image caption,
36. Dr Erin Phipps outlines how hantavirus is spread to humans
37. There was a low risk of exposure to hantavirus in the household, Phipps adds.
38. But she says an investigation found there were signs of rodent entry into the building.
39. It can be transmitted to humans by urine, saliva, faeces and physical contact with infected rodents, Phipps adds.
42. Dr Erin Phipps from the New Mexico Department of Health is now providing some background information on hantavirus – which it is believed Betsy Arakawa died from.
43. It is transmitted from animals to humans, but it cannot be transmitted from person-to-person, she says.
44. Over the past 50 years there have been 136 confirmed infections in New Mexico, and of those cases, 42% were fatal, she adds.
45. It can be transmitted to people through rodent urine, droppings, or saliva, and it’s therefore important to take protective steps to not inhale anything while cleaning any rodent infested areas, she says.
48. Image source, Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office/Meta
49. Image caption,
50. Dr Heather Jarrell says a scan on Hackman’s brain found advanced Alzheimer’s disease
51. The cause of Hackman’s death is hypertensive cardiovascular disease with Alzheimer’s as a contributing factor, Jarrell says.
52. There were no findings of internal or external trauma, she adds, and the examiner found severe heart disease and multiple heart attacks.
53. She says a scan on Hackman’s brain found advanced Alzheimer’s disease and chronic high blood pressure.
54. It is likely that Arakawa died first on the 11 February, Jarrell concludes, and it is “reasonable to conclude” that Hackman died on 18 February.
57. Hackman died around 18 February, the medical examiner says.
58. “There is no reliable method to accurately determine [his] exact time of death,” Jarrell says.
59. But, she adds, his pacemaker stopped recording any cardiac activity around 18 February, therefore it is reasonable to assume that this is when he died.
62. Dr Heather Jarrell of the New Mexico Medical Investigator’s Office is now speaking, and says she performed an autopsy on Betsy Arakawa on 27 February.
63. She found that her cause of death was “natural” and was caused by hantavirus pulmonary syndrome – a disease carried by infected rodents.
66. Image source, Santa Fe County Sheriff/Meta
67. Image caption,
68. Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza relayed the timeline of Arakawa’s movements on the days before her death
69. We’re now hearing more about the movements of Betsy Arakawa in the lead up to her death.
70. Mendoza says that on 9 February she picked up one of her dogs, Zinna, who was also found dead, following a procedure it had undergone.
71. On 11 February, Arakawa emailed her massage therapist just before midday before heading to a market.
72. At around 16.15 on the same day she was seen on surveillance at CVS pharmacy, before stopping at a pet food store, the sheriff says.
73. He adds that there had been no further communications from Arakawa after 11 February.
76. Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza begins the news conference with a recap of the investigation so far.
77. Carbon monoxide poisoning has already been ruled out as a cause of death, he says, and Hackman’s pacemaker shows that he died days before he was found.
78. A “minute and insignificant” minor gas leak from the kitchen stove was also found at the property, the sheriff says.
79. A post mortem examination of their pet dog is also still pending.
82. Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza will shortly be providing updates in the investigation into the deaths of Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa.
83. Mendoza is joined by officials from New Mexico’s medical investigator’s office, the New Mexico Department of Health and the Santa Fe City Fire Department.
84. You can follow along with the news conference by clicking watch live at the top of the page.
87. 
88. The circumstances of their death were deemed “suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation”, the search warrant says, because the worker who called emergency services had found the front door of the property open.
89. However, the detective observed no sign of forced entry into the home. Nothing appeared out of place inside.
90. “There was no indication of a struggle,” said Sheriff Mendoza. “There was no indication of anything that was missing from the home or disturbed, you know, that would be indication that there was a crime that had occurred.”
91. Two other, healthy dogs were discovered roaming the property – one inside and one out.
92. Authorities said Hackman’s pacemaker last registered activity on 17 February, adding that this gives them a good assumption that was his last day of life.
93. But police said it is unclear who died first – Hackman or Arakawa.
94. The two maintenance workers who found the couple, one of whom called the emergency services, say they last had contact with the couple two weeks earlier.
95. The two said they had sometimes conducted routine work at the property, but rarely ever saw Hackman and Arakawa.
96. They had communicated with them by phone and text, primarily with Arakawa.

Page 2

Samantha Granville

Reporting from Santa Fe, New Mexico

Image caption,

The view into Santa Fe from Hackman’s estate

Gene Hackman was a normal person in Santa Fe. And he really loved that.

Residents in the New Mexico city say they were excited to welcome such a massive celebrity to the community when he and his wife Betsy Arakawa arrived more than 20 years ago, but they treated him like anyone else.

“He wasn’t famous here” was the phrase I heard when asking residents about why the movie star chose to call New Mexico’s capital home. They describe a down-to-earth, chatty man who supported local businesses and enjoyed its flourishing arts scene.

Everyone here has a story to tell about Hackman, who was found dead alongside his wife and their dog at their home in the quiet desert city late last month.

Everything in Santa Fe is colourful, from the woven tapestry hanging on shop walls to the clothes people wear and even their personalities.

Hackman immediately got involved with local art museums, most notably sitting on the board of directors at the Georgia O’Keeffe museum, while Arakawa had a luxury home-goods store, and collaborated with artists on various projects.

Read more about what Hackman and Arakawa’s neighbours told me about the couple here.