For more than 30 years, Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa Hackman, who were found dead in their Santa Fe, New Mexico, home on Feb. 26, heavily relied on one another.
In a new interview with The New York Times, a longtime friend of the legendary actor, Tom Allin, said the couple’s relationship was very special in that they always seemed to be on the same page.
“She was very protective of him,” Allin, who would often schedule golf outings with Gene through Betsy, told the outlet, adding that Gene seemed happy to have his wife run things.
At one point, Allin recalled Gene telling him that he would have been dead “long ago” without Betsy looking after him.
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The actor died due to hypertensive atherosclerosis cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer’s disease as a significant contributing factor, New Mexico officials confirmed during a news conference on Friday. Betsy, a classical pianist, died due to Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, which is transmitted from animals to humans and is commonly found in rodents, the New Mexico Department of Health confirmed. Her autopsy determined the manner of death as natural. Authorities believe she died on or about Feb. 11.
According to forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden, Gene likely survived alone in the home for about a week, until he died around Feb. 18, which was the last time activity was recorded on his pacemaker.
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“I think what [happened] here is he didn’t realize it and … didn’t understand that she was dead. He didn’t understand that he needed to call 911,” Dr. Baden told Fox News Digital.
“It sounds like he’s kind of wandered around, was able to drink water from … [the] kitchen sink or even get some food out of the refrigerator … [he] probably couldn’t cook anything but could eat bread or something if he was hungry,” he explained.
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Leading up to their mysterious deaths, the actor’s wife appeared to be his primary caretaker, according to Dr. Baden.
“It looks like she was really taking good care of him,” he said. “She goes first and then … pointing to the evidence that was presented for about six, seven days – 11th to the 17th — when they [knew] that something [had] happened to him.”
Fox News Digital medical contributor, Dr. Marc Siegel added that if his Alzheimer’s was “severe,” he would not have realized his wife was dead.
“If he was incapable of calling 911, and getting her seen, and just sat there for a week, then he either went into a state of great despondency or was somehow incapacitated himself,” Dr. Siegel remarked. “Or his Alzheimer’s was so severe that he was incapable of even noticing what was going on.”
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Gene, Betsy and one of their three dogs were found dead inside their home Feb. 26. Fox News Digital confirmed the couple’s oldest dog, Zinfandel, who went by Zinna, was the dog that died, according to the couple’s longtime dog trainer. Zinna was 12.
Betsy was found on the floor in a bathroom of the couple’s home. Various pills were scattered on a counter, and a space heater was on the floor next to her, according to a search warrant affidavit. Officers described the pianist as showing “obvious signs of death,” including bloating and mummification.
According to a press release obtained by Fox News Digital, the New Mexico Gas Co. “confirmed it conducted an extensive investigation for gas leaks and carbon monoxide” Feb. 26 and made “no significant findings” at the couple’s secluded home.
Fox News Digital’s Tracy Wright, Stephanie Giang-Paunon and Ashley Papa contributed to this report.
