Posted on 03/07/2025 1:43:42 PM PST by sphinx
A February 27 autopsy of Gene Hackman reveals the 95-year-old Oscar winner died of a combination of “advanced Alzheimer’s disease” and severe heart disease, the Santa Fe Medical Examiner announced today.
“It is reasonable to conclude that Mr. Hackman died on February 17,” Dr. Heather Jarrell said in a press conference with Santa Fe Sherif Adan Mendoza and other county officials. “He was in very poor health,” Dr. Jarrell also noted of Hackman, adding that there was evidence that he hadn’t eaten for a number of days. Ms. Arakawa is assumed to have died on or around February 11, officials estimated.
(Excerpt) Read more at deadline.com ...
I mentioned this on an earlier, related thread. Folks in such a condition really should have a medical alert button. The cost is usually around $40 a month.
And for a small additional charge, most companies will call you once a day at a time of your choosing. If you don’t answer, they send a neighbor, police, or EMS for a welfare check.
You can cancel the calls when you’re out of town.
At least have someone call daily
I wonder why she didn’t seek medical attention for herself before she became incapacitated. Strange.
From a different article.
“On Feb. 9, Arakawa picked up one of their three dogs — the dog who was later found dead in the home with the couple — from a vet hospital after a procedure, which may explain why the dog was discovered in a crate when the bodies were found, the sheriff said.”
I believe that photo was from a year ago, the last time he was seen in public.
That’s terrible. She passed and he had no idea what to do or (possibly) even that she had if it was that advanced.
Really? What kind of an autopsy says someone "seems to have died from"...?!
I have no inside knowledge, but there have been several celebrity deaths where the celebrity married someone much younger, and that person isolated them from all their relatives and friends. One of the more infamous ones was Casey Kasem.
Whether done to make sure the will left them all the money, or other reasons, I have no idea. The fact he had mental deterioration and nobody visited would indicate she was the sole caregiver.
I think I heard that his children said that Hackman’s wife took excellent care of him.
My guess is that she died, but he wasn’t cognitively able to really understand what had happened or what to do.
God bless them both.
The dog had apparently had some kind of veterinary treatment on that last day of the wife’s death, and that may be the reason it was in a crate.
As a firefighter, I've seen people go out just about every way you can go out. The best way in the world to die still sucks. You may quote me.
After my Whipple procedure last June, anything I ate came back up. An NG tube was installed to clear my stomach so the food wouldn't just sit and rot. I wasn't hungry. I was put on a TPN IV to provide nutrition. Surgery was June 25th. My stomach wouldn't pass any food until August 12th. TPN was discontinued and an NJ feeding tube installed. 6 cartons (250 ml) of feeding media was pumped into that tube daily until Dec 23rd. I was able to eat beginning in mid-November. Returning to the point, I still wasn't hungry and would have happily just wasted away without encouragement to eat. I overcame that indifference in late December and I'm eating "normally" now.
Gene may have be similarly indifferent to the need to eat. Assuming his wife passed Feb 11th, he lost that external source of food and encouragement to eat.
It seems at least possible that they made a pact: the only way that they leave their home is “boots first.”
some elderly people absolutely hate retirement homes and would never agree to live in one, no matter what. when i ran into this sentiment, i did not inquire why, but i suspect that it has something to do with dignity in death. before dying, they do not heed to worry about being embarrassed by not being able to take care of themselves and not being a drag to everyone around them. after dying, they of course do not care what happens to their mortal bodies.
so one way they could have gone is that gene could have made betsy swear not to call anyone for any help (once a wellness check is performed and it is determined by adult protective services that one or both elderly inhabitants are in medical danger, or the equivalent is passed along to authorities by a civilian). betsy honored gene’s wish. eventually, betsy succumbed to hantavirus (possibly due to cleaning such a large home by herself?). with betsy down and out, gene could not take care of himself, and conscious or not, lucid or not, he only lasted a few days without her. however, none of it was totally unforseen by either of them (with the possible exception of the dog that passed away in the kennel).
Makes sense....she died, and without anyone to look after him he died a few days later. With the advanced Alzheimer’s, he likely was incapable of feeding himself...and at 95 years old, it wouldn’t take long to die of malnutrition.
given the scenario i mentioned above, one could say that relatives should have intervened. however, elderly do not always give relatives a practical choice (at least until it is too late). to be effective, the relative or relatives need to be well enough off and within easy driving distance of the elderly in question. everyday life does not always allow such conditions.
also, santa fe is a tourist town and making a good living in the tourist industry for relatives is not always easy. people who choose to live in Santa Fe often choose it for privacy.
The vax strikes again. Maybe, the wife and dog at the same time. Nah..
Yes, true. And the Deer Mouse is by far the main carrier. Common there.
The dog probably died from dehydration.
Gene made it to 95. We are seeing an epidemic of people we know from coast to coast not making it past their mid low to mid to top 80's before checking out for ever. Their homes go from Floriduh to the NE to MW to the SW and West Coast!
Hackman’s children said that she took very good care of him.
The medical examiner said that the type of Hanta virus she had contracted can take one to eight weeks after exposure to manifest; she probably didn’t what she had, thinking it was just some ‘flu.
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