[CaptainK]

She died on 2/11 from complications due to hantavirus and he on 2/18 from a heart attack.

[Carry_Okie]

What about the dog?

[Fai Mao]

And he left her on the floor for a week?

[Tijeras_Slim]

Apparently he had advanced Alzheimers as well.

[blackdog]

I suspect Gene had a bad patch of Dementia. How does one go a week of wondering where your pudding delivery service is?

[CaptainK]

I always thought she went first because I couldn’t conceive of her not reaching out for help if he was dying or committing suicide over his death.

It made more sense that if she died he really wouldn’t know how to handle the situation because of cognitive loss.

[Kevin in California]

I’m not buying this BS. So his wife supposedly died a week before him and he never reported it?

And yes, how’d the dog die?

[mbrfl]

That’s what I suspected. She died first. He (and the dog) were basically stranded, unable to provide for themselves.

[Sarah Barracuda]

The entire story makes zero sense..Hantavirus you get from being exposed to rodent poo, so she got exposed, starting feeling ill(Symptoms are similar to the flu) so she felt like she had the flu but didnt call anyone to help take care of him, a caregiver, someone, housekeeper? So she dies and he’s so far gone with alzheimer’s that he doesn’t know how to get himself a bite to eat(There was no food in his stomach, completely empty, also had severe dehydration)..and the poor dog died because after she died he had no clue how to open the cage to let him out..yeah this is just so freakin weird

[sphinx]

You beat me to it, but yes. This is a surprise. We’ve had a couple of Alzheimer’s patients in the near reaches of my family, but none has lived to 95 and all were in assisted care when they passed.

[ConservativeMind]

Why was the front door open for two weeks?

[silent_jonny]

Still doesn't make any sense.

No one called to check on either of them--in the 15 days between her death and the maintenance guys finding them?

[madison10]

Someone should have been checking on them daily. Sounds like elder abuse.

[ansel12]

So many questions asked on this thread and the answers are in the article.

[Churchillspirit]

How very sad.

May they both rest in peace.

[Biblebelter]

She was extremely healthy until she wasn’t.

Had some symptoms but tried to treat those herself.

I can understand that from a person who led a healthy lifestyle and was probably rarely sick and when she was she threw it off in couple of days.

The shame is they had tremendous wealth and could have hired help to look after him which in this case could have got her attention before she could no longer help herself.

In my own family I’ve seen the caregiver mentality that is hesitant to admit the caregiver is harming their own physical and mental well being by trying to go it alone.

[plain talk]

“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.”

Dog was in crate. Wife and caretaker died from Hantavirus. Gene had advanced Alzheimer's so there was no one to care for the dog so the dog starved to death. Gene later died from heart disease and not being able to care for himself. Sad.

[waterhill]

The dog died of starvation. Gene might have as well. I really don’t think he was killed by cartels or some shit. Maybe that Australian dude did it.

[waterhill]

The dog died of starvation. Gene might have as well. I really don’t think he was killed by cartels or some shit. Maybe that Australian dude did it.

[waterhill]

The dog died of starvation. Gene might have as well. I really don’t think he was killed by cartels or some shit. Maybe that Australian dude did it.

[Wallace T.]

Gene Hackman’s death is believable but his wife's death less so. I am not familiar with hantavirus but it is difficult believe it can kill so suddenly. Perhaps she tried to treat the symptoms herself.