Gene Hackman, Betsy Arakawa death investigation: Health department reportedly found signs of rodent infestation on property

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Health officials investigating the deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, in New Mexico uncovered dead rodents, droppings and nests "scattered across" the couple’s Santa Fe estate, TMZ reported this week.

According to a report by the New Mexico Department of Public Health obtained by the outlet, droppings and nests were discovered in eight detached outbuildings on the couple’s $4 million property.

Rodent feces were found in two small homes, three sheds, three garages and two vehicles. The report found no signs of rodent activity inside the primary residence, according to TMZ.

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The health department conducted an environmental assessment of the property on March 5, more than a week after Hackman's and Arakawa’s bodies were discovered by workers on Feb. 26.

Officials said autopsies determined that Hackman and Arakawa died of natural causes days apart. Arakawa, 65, is said to have died first, from hantavirus, a rare respiratory illness spread mainly by rodents. Hackman, 95, died considerably later, from advanced heart disease, with Alzheimer’s disease as a contributing factor.

Timeline of their deaths

Because the couple had been dead for some time before they were discovered, authorities have been trying to piece together a timeline, which has shifted amid the investigation. The latest finding is that Arakawa died on Feb. 12 — the last day on which she made a phone call to a doctor’s office — and Hackman died on Feb. 18, according to data from his pacemaker.

March 31: A New Mexico judge ruled that records of the investigation into their deaths can be released to the public, as long as images of their bodies are obscured in any videos and photos.

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The ruling by Santa Fe District Court Judge Matthew Wilson was in response to a petition by the Hackman estate seeking to block state officials from releasing sensitive imagery of the couple’s remains, their dog’s corpse and the interior of their home. Wilson ordered that there should “be no depiction of either body” in any videos or photographs that are released, according to the Associated Press. Images of the bodies, which were in a mummified state when they were found on Feb. 26, must be blurred.

However, Wilson denied the estate’s request to block the release of the investigation materials altogether. This means that other findings — including any photos taken inside the home and of the dog that was found dead in a crate near Arakawa’s body, as well as autopsy and toxicology reports — can potentially be made public. Investigation materials are typically considered public records under state law.

Feb. 26: The bodies of Arakawa and Hackman were found at their home, in the Santa Fe Summit gated community, after maintenance workers alerted security guards. Arakawa’s body, which showed signs of mummification, was found on a bathroom floor near the entry of the home near the deceased dog, Zinna, who was in a crate. The two surviving dogs, Bear and Nikita, who were able to go in and out of the house through an open door, led investigators to Hackman’s body, which was in the mudroom.

A contractor/handyman for the couple, Jesse Kesler, told the Daily Mail he and the security guard did not just stumble upon the bodies. He had tried to contact the couple and became worried when he didn’t hear from them. The security guard accompanied him to the home, where they found Arakawa on the floor.

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Feb. 18: It’s presumed that Hackman, who was alone for days after his wife’s death, died on this day, the last day on which his pacemaker registered cardiac activity. He was found on the floor with his cane and sunglasses by his side. The medical examiner said he was hydrated but had no food in his stomach.

Feb. 12: It’s now presumed Arakawa died on this day. That morning, she made three calls to Cloudberry Health, a Santa Fe medical concierge service, Sheriff Adan Mendoza told ABC News. Cloudberry founder Dr. Josiah Child told the Daily Mail that Arakawa, who would have been a first-time patient, reached out “a couple of weeks before her death” to ask about an echocardiogram for Hackman. She ended up making an appointment for herself — “unrelated to anything respiratory” — for Feb. 12. Two days before the appointment, she called to cancel, saying her husband wasn’t well.

Child told ABC News that Arakawa then called on Feb. 12 seeking information about hyperbaric therapy, which involves breathing pure oxygen in a pressurized chamber. There was no indication she was having breathing issues, a symptom of hantavirus, or was in distress, but she did say she was “feeling congested,” Child said. After she spoke to one of the doctors, she scheduled an appointment for 1:15 p.m. that day but didn’t arrive. The office called her but never reached her.

Feb. 11: Arakawa was last seen in public while out running errands locally. She went to a Sprouts Farmers Market grocery store between 3:30 and 4:15 p.m., then a CVS Pharmacy. She used a remote to open the main gate of her gated community at approximately 5:15 p.m. Dr. Heather Jarrell, chief medical investigator for the state’s Office of the Medical Investigator, said a person with hantavirus, which is extremely rare, typically feels sick for three to six days.

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Arakawa did not go to Gruda Veterinary Hospital to pick up the prescription dog food and medication she had ordered for one of the dogs, as she was supposed to do.

Feb. 9: Arakawa picked up Zinna from a veterinary hospital after a medical procedure, which Mendoza said probably explained why the dog was crated. The New Mexico Department of Agriculture’s Veterinary Diagnostic Services determined during a necropsy that the dog likely died of starvation and dehydration because it had been confined in the crate. There was no evidence of infection, trauma or poisoning. The dog’s stomach was “mostly empty except for very small amounts of hair and bile.”

The contractor said this was the last day he had spoken with Arakawa.

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