Gene Hackman Died From Heart Disease a Week After the Death of His Wife, Who Had Hantavirus

The actor Gene Hackman died from heart disease at his home in New Mexico, most likely a week after his wife, Betsy Arakawa, died from the effects of hantavirus, a disease linked to rodents that can cause respiratory failure in rare cases, the authorities said on Friday.

The revelation that the famous and reclusive couple had died of natural causes put to rest much of the speculation that followed the discovery of their bodies on Feb. 26. But it also raised new questions about the state of mind of Mr. Hackman, who had severe Alzheimer’s disease, and why the couple was not discovered sooner.

Ms. Arakawa, 65, had run a series of errands on Feb. 11, but the authorities could find no evidence of any activity after that, suggesting that she could have died that day. Mr. Hackman, 95, is believed to have died about a week later, on Feb. 18, according to New Mexico’s chief medical examiner, Dr. Heather Jarrell.

Mr. Hackman was found on the floor of the mudroom in the couple’s home, near his cane, while Ms. Arakawa was found on a bathroom floor, beside a counter with pills scattered about. They were not discovered until Feb. 26.

Dr. Jarrell said that the pills found near Ms. Arakawa were thyroid medication and were not associated with her cause of death. She said hantavirus is contracted through exposure to excrement from rodents — in New Mexico, primarily one species of mouse — and it can cause flulike symptoms before progressing to shortness of breath, as well as cardiac and lung failure.

Erin Phipps, a state veterinarian, said the couple’s home had “low risk” of exposure to hantavirus, but that there were signs of rodents in other structures on the property, which is in a secluded neighborhood to the east of Santa Fe.