New details have been shared about Gene Hackman’s final days after his final autopsy report was shared.
The actor, 95, and his wife Betsy Arakawa, 65, were both found dead in their Santa Fe, New Mexico, home on February 26, along with one of their pet dogs.
The couple’s bodies showed that they had both been dead for several days before they were found.
Chief Medical Investigator Dr. Heather Jarrell confirmed that Arakawa died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome — a rare and often fatal disease transmitted through infected rodent droppings, per BBC News.
Her death was ruled as natural, with no signs of trauma. She is believed to have passed away on February 12.
Hackman, a two-time Academy Award-winning actor, died roughly a week later, on February 18.
His cause of death was hypertensive cardiovascular disease, with advanced Alzheimer’s disease listed as a contributing factor. Dr. Jarrell noted that his pacemaker ceased recording cardiac activity on February 18, making it the likely date of his passing.
A final autopsy report has now confirmed that the star hadn’t for an extended period of time before his death, after trace amounts of acetone were found in his system.
The official report from the Office of the Medical Investigator in New Mexico, as cited by Fox News, stated that the toxicology report showed Hackman to have acetone levels at 5.3 mg/dl, which is consistent with prolonged fasting.
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The substance can be a “product of diabetic- and fasting-induced ketoacidosis as well as a metabolite following isopropanol ingestion,” according to the report.
It had previously been reported that no food had been found in the actor’s stomach, indicating that he hadn’t recently eaten before his death.
The autopsy report also confirmed that Hackman had “severe chronic hypertensive changes” to his kidneys as well as a “history of congestive heart failure” and had a “bi-ventricular pacemaker” fitted in April 2019.
The report also noted “neurodegenerative features consistent with Alzheimer’s disease.”
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Officials believe that Hackman had been unaware Arakawa had died in the days before he also passed away, due to his advanced dementia.
Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Heather Jarrell said it was “quite possible” Hackman did not know Arakawa had passed away.
The final autopsy also states that Hackman had tested negative for hantavirus, the rat-borne disease that killed Arakawa.
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The couple’s bodies were found in a partially mummified state on February 25 after contractors raised the alarm and police were called to the property.
Officials had initially feared the couple may have died from a gas leak or carbon monoxide poisoning, but this was quickly ruled out.