Authorities in New Mexico on Tuesday (Apr 15) released a lengthy investigation report detailing some of the last emails, phone calls and internet searches by Gene Hackman’s wife in the days before her death, indicating that she was scouring for information on flu-like symptoms and breathing techniques.
Betsy Arakawa died in February of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome – a rare, rodent-borne disease that can led to a range of symptoms that include flu-like illness, headaches, dizziness and severe respiratory distress, investigators have said. Gene Hackman is believed to have died about a week later of heart disease with complications from Alzheimer’s disease.
The partially mummified remains of Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 65, were found in their Santa Fe home on Feb 26, when maintenance and security workers showed up at the home and alerted police.
According to the report released Tuesday, a review of Arakawa’s computer showed she was actively researching medical conditions related to COVID-19 and flu-like symptoms between Feb 8 and the morning of Feb 12. The searches included questions about whether COVID could cause dizziness or nosebleeds.
She also had mentioned in an email to her masseuse that Hackman had woken up Feb 11 with flu or cold-like symptoms but that a COVID test was negative and she would have to reschedule her appointment for the next day “out of an abundance of caution”.
Arakawa’s search history also showed a query for a concierge medical service in Santa Fe the morning of Feb 12. A review of her phone records by investigators showed she had a call with the service that lasted less than 2 minutes and missed a return call later that afternoon.
Investigators also reviewed a call history to the Hackmans’ home phone along with voicemails and security footage from stores that Arakawa had visited on Feb 11.
Authorities also are expected to release more redacted police body camera footage from inside the home as sheriff’s deputies and investigators tried to piece together what had happened to the couple. The written report describes them going through rooms of the home and finding nothing out of the ordinary and no signs of forced entry.
They found paper grocery bags on the floor of the pantry. Inside one bag was a Feb 11 copy of the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper. They also documented a bag of bagels that had been opened, with part of the contents missing.
In the living room was a large piano and couches, according to the report. There were pillows on one couch as if someone had been sleeping there. Investigators also described a collection of art, puzzles and drawing supplies in the dining room, and medical supplies like bandages and tape in several kitchen drawers.
The materials were being released as the result of a recent court order that mandated any depictions of the deceased couple would have to be blocked from view. All photos, video and documents from the investigation had been restricted from release by an earlier, temporary court order.
The Hackman estate and family members had sought to keep the records sealed to protect the family’s constitutional right to privacy.
A report by the New Mexico Department of Health showed an environmental assessment of the Hackman property found rodent faeces in several outbuildings and live traps on the property. The inside of the home was clean, with no evidence of rodent activity.
Nestled among the piñon and juniper hills overlooking Santa Fe, the Hackman home is not unlike others in the area as mice are common within the surrounding landscape.
One of the couple’s three dogs also was found dead in a crate in a bathroom closet near Arakawa, while two other dogs were found alive. A state veterinary lab tied the dog’s death to dehydration and starvation.
An attorney for the estate, Kurt Sommer, argued during a hearing last month that the couple had taken great pains to stay out of the public light during their lifetimes and that the right to control the use of their names and likenesses should extend to their estate in death.
The Associated Press, CBS News and CBS Studios intervened in the matter, saying in court filings that they would not disseminate images of the couple’s bodies and would blur images to obscure them from other records.
