After two months of their passing, an autopsy report revealed the cause of death for Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman, 95, and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, 63.
The couple’s bodies were found on February 26 by maintenance workers Jesse Kesler and Roland Lowe Begay. Kesler was the couple’s personal contractor for 16 years, and after finding their bodies, he made a frantic 911 call.
What the autopsy report revealed
According to the Medical Investigator Office in New Mexico, a final autopsy obtained by Fox News Digital revealed that the late actor had a “history of congestive heart failure” in addition to “severe chronic hypertensive changes, kidneys.”
He also had Alzheimer’s
“Neurodegenerative features consistent with Alzheimer’s Disease” were reported in the autopsy, as well as a “bi-ventricular pacemaker” that was placed in his heart in April 2019.
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“Autopsy showed severe atherosclerotic and hypertensive cardiovascular disease, with placement of coronary artery stents and a bypass graft, as well as a previous aortic valve replacement,” the documents further revealed.
The findings that explain his death
“Remote myocardial infarctions were present involving the left ventricular free wall and the septum, which were significantly large,” the report stated.
Moreover, Hackman tested negative for Hantavirus, and his carbon monoxide levels in his system “was less than 5% saturation, in keeping with a normal range.”
The toxicology report revealed more
There were trace amounts of acetone in Hackman’s system, as the toxicology test showed acetone levels at 5.3 mg/dl, as opposed to the normal 0.3 mg/dL or less. These findings mean that Hackman has fasted for a long duration.
Acetone can be produced in the body as a byproduct of diabetic- and fasting-induced ketoacidosis. Another possibility is that it was formed after isopropanol ingestion.
The state they were found in
Fox News Digital obtained a search warrant affidavit that revealed that Arakawa showed “obvious signs of death,” including decomposition, bloating on the face, and mummification in the hands and feet. Hackman showed similar signs, too.
Arakawa’s cause of death revealed
The New Mexico Department of Health confirmed that her cause of death was due to hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. Hantavirus is transmitted from animals (commonly rodents) to humans.
Chief Medical Investigator Dr. Heather Jarrell explained during a news conference how the virus presents itself, with “flu-like symptoms consisting of fever, muscle aches, cough, sometimes vomiting and diarrhea that can progress to shortness of breath and cardiac or heart failure and lung failure.”