Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa died a week apart from different causes, officials say

Authorities on Friday revealed the causes of death for actor Gene Hackman and his wife, saying the couple are believed to have died a full week apart at their home in New Mexico from two different diseases.

The state's chief medical examiner said Hackman, 95, died as a result of heart disease, with advanced Alzheimer's disease being a contributing factor. He also had chronic high blood pressure and poor kidney function.

"He was in a very poor state of health," Dr. Heather Jarrell told a news conference on Friday.

Hackman's wife, Betsy Arakawa, died from a rare lung infection known as hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. The condition is spread by infected rodent droppings and can cause respiratory failure.

Investigators found that the last known communication and activity from Arakawa was Feb. 11 when she visited a pharmacy, pet store and grocery before returning to their gated neighborhood that afternoon, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said Friday. It's believed she died that day. 

Hackman's pacemaker indicates he died seven days after his wife.

Officials believe the late actor was alone in the house with his wife's body during that time. He might not have realized Arakawa had died due to the progression of his Alzheimer's, Jarrell said.

"It's quite possible he was not aware she was deceased," the medical examiner said at the news conference.

The couple's bodies weren't discovered at their home until Feb. 26. Hackman was found near his cane in the entryway, and Arakawa was found on the bathroom floor.

The bodies were decomposing with some mummification, a consequence of body type and climate in Santa Fe's especially dry air at an elevation of nearly 2,200 metres.

Jarrell said pills found near Arakawa's body were thyroid medication and not linked to her cause of death. The medical examiner said hantavirus is spread through rodent feces and can initially cause flu-like symptoms before progressing to shortness of breath as well as cardiac and lung failure.

The Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office has said it does not suspect foul play, and tests for carbon monoxide poisoning were negative. 

One of the couple's three dogs also was found dead in a crate in a bathroom closet near Arakawa, while two other dogs survived. 

Dogs do not get sick from hantavirus, said Erin Phipps, a veterinarian with the New Mexico Health Department. The sheriff considers this an open investigation until they receive results of the dog's necropsy and finish checking into data from personal cellphones retrieved from the home.