In a perplexing turn of events, the wife of actor Gene Hackman was found dead at their Santa Fe home on 11 February, with subsequent inquiries revealing a series of unusual occurrences. Dr. Josiah Child, head of Cloudberry Health in Santa Fe, confirmed Mrs. Hackman called his clinic on 12 February, despite having passed away the day before due to hantavirus, a rare rodent-borne respiratory disease. The Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office corroborated that Arakawa made multiple calls to the health clinic on 12 February.
Dr. Child recounted that Arakawa had contacted his office twice earlier in the month, on 10 and 12 February, to arrange an appointment for herself. The appointment was scheduled for 12 February; however, she did not attend.
"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," Dr. Child stated.
Hackman, who suffered from advanced Alzheimer's disease, showed no pacemaker activity after 18 February. He was found on a porch near their residence, apparently having fallen with no food in his stomach. Two days before an anticipated appointment, Mrs. Hackman had canceled, citing her poor health.
"She’d called me a couple of weeks before her death to ask about getting an echocardiogram for her husband," Dr. Child noted.
In the days leading up to her death, Mrs. Hackman was seen visiting several local Santa Fe shops, including a chemist, pet food store, and supermarket. Tragically, one of the couple's three dogs, recovering from surgery in a crate, died from starvation and dehydration. The other two dogs were found wandering the property and grounds.
The circumstances surrounding Mrs. Hackman's death remained puzzling, as she showed no apparent signs of respiratory distress during her calls to the clinic.
"Respiratory failure is not sudden – it is something that worsens over several days. Most people get admitted to the ER because they are having trouble breathing. It’s exceedingly rare for a seemingly healthy 65-year-old to drop dead of it. In fact, no one’s heard of such a thing," remarked a Los Angeles-based doctor.
Mrs. Hackman was discovered on the bathroom floor of their home with pills scattered on the countertop and a portable heater nearby. Despite these findings, the postmortem results confirmed hantavirus as the cause of death.
"I am not a hantavirus expert but most patients who have that diagnosis die in hospital," said Dr. Child.