Photos show Gene Hackman’s rodent-infested home, with rotting food creating a Hantavirus breeding ground

SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO: Hollywood legend Gene Hackman lived a full life brimming with accolades, critical acclaim, and unforgettable movie roles. But the truth about how he and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, died is anything but glamorous.

When police entered the couple’s secluded New Mexico estate in late February, what they found was nothing short of a tragedy.

The tragic final days of Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa

According to authorities, the home was a mess - loose food left out, clothing and bags scattered across floors and countertops, and rat feces found throughout the property. Body camera footage captured by police shows a house in disarray, with the bathroom in chaos and items covering every surface.

The estate, made up of eight separate buildings, had become infested with rats, per the Independent.

Hackman, 94, was found dead in the estate’s mudroom on February 26. Arakawa had died earlier from a rare but deadly virus — hantavirus pulmonary syndrome — which is contracted through contact with rodent droppings, urine, or saliva. 

Hackman, already suffering from heart disease and Alzheimer’s, survived alone for an entire week before succumbing to heart failure on February 18.

Even their beloved dog Zinnia wasn’t spared — police believe she died of dehydration and starvation. Her body was found crated, while two other dogs had survived. One of the officers described one dog as “guarding her” and noted it was “pretty friendly."

What Betsy Arakawa was googling in her final days?

Betsy Arakawa seemed to know something was terribly wrong. Investigators discovered that in her final days, she was frantically searching the internet for answers to her mystery illness.

Between February 8 and the morning of February 12, her computer showed searches for medical conditions linked to Covid-19 and the flu — everything from dizziness to nosebleeds. She also looked up breathing techniques and eventually tried to find help through a concierge medical service.

On February 12, she actually spoke to someone from a local service on the phone for two minutes. However, she missed a follow-up call later that same day. Her last confirmed sighting was on February 11.

By the time police arrived nearly two weeks later, Arakawa’s body was found near a bathroom, close to a space heater and an open pill bottle. Her remains had already entered an advanced state of decomposition, with “bloating in her face and mummification in both hands and feet,” according to a police warrant.

Hackman’s final moments weren’t much clearer. He was found on the ground near the kitchen, in the mudroom, with his cane and sunglasses nearby — suggesting he may have fallen.

Maintenance workers made gruesome discovery of Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa's death

The heartbreaking discovery wasn’t made until February 26, when two maintenance workers — who hadn’t seen the couple in about two weeks — entered the property and immediately called the police. What they stumbled upon was so alarming that what was first thought to be a natural passing of an elderly couple was quickly deemed “suspicious” by investigators.

Police found dead rats and signs of a full-blown infestation across the property, pointing to the possibility that their once-peaceful home had become a breeding ground for the very virus that killed Arakawa. 

Hantavirus is extremely rare, with only 864 cases reported in the US from 1993 to 2022, according to the CDC. It doesn’t spread person to person — only from infected rodents.

Despite the troubling state of the home, Sheriff Adan Mendoza later confirmed that there was no sign of foul play. “There was no indication of anything that was missing from the home or disturbed that would be an indication that there was a crime that had occurred,” Mendoza said.

Tests from the Santa Fe Fire Department and New Mexico Gas Company also ruled out any carbon monoxide leaks or toxic environmental causes.

Gene Hackman's quiet life in New Mexico and an even quieter end

Gene Hackman had long since retreated from the spotlight. Since retiring from acting in 2004, he’d been living a relatively low-key life in New Mexico, preferring privacy over premieres. 

But even in retirement, he was upfront about his health struggles. In a 2009 interview with Empire, he revealed that his doctor had pushed him to quit acting altogether due to his heart issues.

“The straw that broke the camel’s back was actually a stress test that I took in New York,” Hackman said. “The doctor advised me that my heart wasn’t in the kind of shape that I should be putting it under any stress.”

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