Questions are mounting over the final days of actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, following a doctor's claims that directly contradict the official account of their deaths. Dr. Josiah Child, a physician at Cloudberry Health in Santa Fe, revealed that Arakawa contacted his clinic on February 12, one day after the Santa Fe medical examiner listed as her date of death.
According to the medical examiner, Arakawa, 65, died on February 11 from hantavirus, a rare respiratory disease linked to rodent droppings. Hackman, 95, reportedly died of hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer's disease listed as a contributing factor, on February 18. Their bodies were discovered together in their Santa Fe home on February 26.
Dr. Child's statement casts doubt on the official timeline. "Mrs. Hackman didn't die on February 11 because she called my clinic on February 12," Child told media outlets. He explained that Arakawa had previously contacted his office weeks earlier to inquire about an echocardiogram for Hackman, and had canceled a February 12 appointment due to her husband's declining health.
"She called back on the morning of February 12 and spoke to one of our doctors who told her to come in that afternoon," Child added. "We made her an appointment, but she never showed up. She did not show any symptoms of respiratory distress. The appointment wasn't for anything related to hantavirus. We tried calling her a couple of times with no reply."
The doctor, who previously worked in emergency care, further questioned the official cause of Arakawa's death. "I am not a hantavirus expert but most patients who have that diagnosis die in hospital," Child noted. "It is surprising that Mrs. Hackman spoke to my office on the phone on February 10 and again on February 12 and didn't appear in respiratory distress."
A Los Angeles-based physician echoed these concerns, telling outlets that "respiratory failure is not sudden-it is something that worsens over several days." They described Arakawa's reported cause of death as "exceedingly rare" for someone who appeared healthy days prior.
The timeline confusion has significant legal implications, as Hackman's will, last updated in 2005, named Arakawa as the sole beneficiary. If she predeceased him, intestate succession laws could bypass the will, potentially transferring the estate to Hackman's three children-Christopher, 65, Elizabeth, 62, and Leslie, 58.
California attorney Tre Lovell stated, "The estate will actually be probated in accordance with intestate succession laws, and the children would be lawfully next in line to inherit."
Complicating matters further, Arakawa's own will reportedly contained a clause stipulating that if she and her husband died within 90 days of each other, her assets would be placed in a trust and eventually donated to charity.
Authorities initially suspected carbon monoxide poisoning when the couple and one of their dogs were discovered, but later ruled both deaths as natural causes. However, Dr. Child's revelation raises fresh questions about the sequence of events and could influence ongoing discussions regarding the couple's substantial estate.
Hackman, known for roles in The French Connection and Unforgiven, had largely retired from public life in recent years.
