After days of speculation, it appears that the cause of death of Gene Hackman and his wife is perhaps even more tragic than many of the theories. New Mexico officials have confirmed that 95-year-old Hackman died of severe cardiovascular disease, with his Alzheimer’s disease as a significant contributory factor.
Hackan retired in 2004 and had lived something of a reclusive life in retirement with his wife Betsy. Their bodies were discovered in separate rooms after a visitor observed them seeming non-responsive through a window.
The chief medical examiner, Dr. Heather Jarrell of the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator, said they had concluded that Betsy passed away first, some time after February 11th as that was the last time she was seen out shopping – in CVS.
Her cause of death was a severe respiratory illness caused by hantavirus, a reasonably rare disease caught from rats. Hackman’s autopsy showed no sign of hantavirus but did show severe heart disease from his previous heart issues. He was also in an advanced state of Alzheimer’s.
There was no food in his stomach, and he was dehydrated. It is thought he had passed away for more than a week before they were discovered.
So the dreadful reality is that his wife and primary carer was likely shopping in CVS for some medicine as she was feeling unwell. That turned out to be hantavirus. She passed away, and Hackman, with advanced Alzheimer’s, was potentially unaware and unable to care for himself.
Check on your elderly loved ones folks, even if it is just a regular phone call.