# Gene Hackman’s wife died from a rare infectious disease around a week before the actor died from heart failure. The couple were found dead in their New Mexico home on 26 February, along with one of their dogs. According to post-mortem investigations Betsy Arakawa died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. During a press conference on Friday the medical examiner said Hackman had advanced Alzheimer’s and quite possibly was not aware that his wife was deceased. The actor tested negative for hantavirus, which is spread by infected rodent droppings.
Gene Hackman and wife’s causes of death revealed