Gene Hackman’s tragic final days: Star would have experienced his wife’s death ‘repeatedly’ because advanced Alzheimer’s meant he was ‘living in a reel’

Gene Hackman may have relived his wife’s death repeatedly in his final days of life due to his battle with advanced Alzheimer’s disease, an occupational therapist has revealed.

The partially mummified remains of Hackman, 95, and Betsy Arakawa, 65, were discovered February 26 when maintenance and security workers showed up at their Santa Fe, New Mexico home and alerted police. 

Police said Arakawa likely died February 11 at home from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare but potentially fatal disease spread by infected rodent droppings. It not known how quickly Arakawa died.

Hackman died from cardiovascular disease around February 18, with officials saying he may have been unaware that his wife was dead.

But Dr Catherine Piersol, an occupational therapist who specializes in dementia care, says that Hackman may have experienced the loss of his wife over and over again because his disease meant it was ‘like he was living in a reel’.

‘I imagine he would be trying to wake her up and not being successful,’ Piersol told BBC, hypothesizing on what occurred during his last week of live. ‘But then could have been distracted in another room because of one of the dogs or something.’

She suggested that Hackman would then later notice his wife on the bathroom floor and have to ‘live through it again’.

Hackman, left to fend for himself after Arakawa died, went days without food, which experts warn can increase levels of confusion and agitation in Alzheimer’s patients.

Gene Hackman may have relived his wife Betsy Arakawa’s death repeatedly in his final days of life due to his battle with advanced Alzheimer’s disease, an occupational therapist has revealed. The couple are pictured together in March 2024 during their last known public outing

An occupational therapist who specializes in dementia care suggested that Hackman may have discovered Arakawa’s body, gotten ‘distracted in another room because of one of the dogs or something’ and then later notice his wife dead, forcing him to ‘live through it again’. The late couple are pictured with their two former dogs, Maisie and Roscoe, in 2007

The partially mummified remains of Hackman, 95, and Betsy Arakawa, 65, were discovered February 26 when maintenance and security workers showed up at their Santa Fe, New Mexico home (pictured) and alerted police

Officials found no indication that Hackman attempted to contact police or other emergency personnel after Arakawa’s death.

They were also unable to tell if the actor, who was already in ‘very poor health’, was able to care for himself during his final week.

Dr Brendan Kelley, a neurologist specializing in memory and cognition, told the BBC that Hackman may not have been able to call for help because of his condition.

Kelley explained that although Alzheimer’s patients experience physical needs and emotions, like pain and sadness, they often struggle to identify what they are feeling.

‘A person might feel worried or frightened, but at the same time they might not be capable to take the actions that you or I might normally think to do in order to alleviate that worry or concern, such as calling somebody else, or going to speak to a neighbor,’ the neurologist said.

Hackman was found dead with his cane and sunglasses by his side in a room just off the kitchen following an apparent fall – hinting he may have been on his way out of the home before his weak heart gave in.  

An autopsy showed his stomach was empty at the time of his death.

His pacemaker’s last recorded activity was on February 18 – but help would not arrive until over a week later.

Santa Fe Sheriff Adam Mendoza said his department plans to keep Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa’s cases open despite their causes of death being revealed after weeks of speculation. (Pictured: The couple in 1991) 

Officials said that numerous emails went unopened on February 11, and that there was no further communication from Arakawa’s account after that day. (Pictured: The couple in 1993) 

Hackman was found in the home’s entryway, and Arakawa was found in a bathroom. Both deaths were ruled to be from natural causes. The reclusive couple’s dogs, who were lovingly cared for by the couple, were also left alone.

Their pet Zinna, who had been picked up by Arakawa from a veterinary hospital on February 9 – two days before her death – was found dead in a a kennel in a bathroom closet about 10 to 15 feet from Arakawa’s partially mummified remains.

Officials believe the animal had been crated due to the recent medical care it had received. A necropsy will be done on the dog.

A German Shepherd named Bear and a second dog named Nikita were found running around the 12 acre property – with a dog door allowing them access to food and water.

The dogs were discovered loose when the mummified bodies of Hackman and Arakawa were discovered on February 26 by two maintenance workers. 

Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said he considers this an open investigation until they receive results of the Zinna’s necropsy and finish checking into data from personal cellphones retrieved from the home. 

Dr. Heather Jarrell, Chief Medical Investigator for the state of New Mexico, said their deaths had both been ruled as natural, and that no signs of internal or external trauma were found.

This followed days of intense speculation around the mysterious deaths.

Hackman’s life until 2004 was lived in the Hollywood glare – he is pictured with friend and Unforgiven co-star Clint Eastwood at the 1993 Oscars 

The sheriff said Arakawa’s last known outing was a round of errands and shopping February 11. She visited a pharmacy, pet store and grocery before returning to the couple’s gated neighborhood that evening.

Arakawa stopped answering emails that day. As of Friday, the couple’s cellphone communications had not yet been analyzed.

The revelations about the manner of the couple’s deaths jolted Santa Fe, the state capital city known as a refuge for celebrities, artists and authors.

‘All of us that knew him should have been checking on him,’ said Stuart Ashman, co-owner of Artes de Cuba gallery, who cherished his encounters with Hackman at a local Pilates exercise studio. 

‘I had no idea… It’s just really sad. And that she died a week before him. My God.’

Most older Americans with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias live at home, and many receive care from family or friends.

Hantavirus typically is reported in spring and summer, often due to exposures that occur when people are near mouse droppings in homes, sheds or poorly ventilated areas. This is the first confirmed case of hantavirus in New Mexico this year.

While hantavirus is found throughout the world, most cases in the US have been found in western states. The virus can cause a severe and sometimes deadly lung infection.

Hackman, a Hollywood icon, won two Oscars during a storied career in films including The French Connection, Hoosiers and Superman from the 1960s until his retirement in the early 2000s. He is pictured in a scene from Hoosiers

Hackman, a Hollywood icon, won two Oscars during a storied career in films including The French Connection, Hoosiers and Superman from the 1960s until his retirement in the early 2000s.

Arakawa, born in Hawaii, studied as a concert pianist, attended the University of Southern California and met Hackman in the mid-1980s while working at a California gym.

Hackman dedicated much of his time in retirement to painting and writing novels far from Hollywood´s social circuit. 

He served for several years on the board of trustees at the Georgia O´Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, and he and Arakawa were investors in local businesses.

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