The world was stunned when the two-time Oscar-winning star Gene Hackman, 95, was found dead last month along with his 65 year-old wife Betsy Arakawa. After they were discovered, it was revealed that Arakawa died days before Hackman, who was suffering from advanced Alzheimer’s and possibly didn’t understand the situation.
Now, new details about the last phone call Arakawa made have come to light. Indeed, this has completely changed the timeline that investigators had for her death.
Arakawa’s Final Phone Call
Arakawa reportedly died of Hantavirus, a rare flu-like virus transmitted through rodent droppings, according to Heather Jarrell, New Mexico’s chief medical examiner.
It was initially believed that she died on February 11, which is the last day that she was seen publicly. That day, Arakawa was spotted shopping at a local supermarket in Santa Fe. She was then seen on surveillance footage driving back into her gated community that evening. Arakawa also did not open any emails after February 11.
Now, however, it has been revealed that Arakawa was actually still alive on February 12. In the early hours of that morning, Arakawa called Cloudberry, which is a medical concierge service that provides credentialed doctors to patients seeking help.
“Mrs Hackman didn’t die on February 11 because she called my clinic on February 12,” Dr. Josiah Child, a former emergency care specialist who now runs Cloudberry Health, told Daily Mail. “She’d called me a couple of weeks before her death to ask about getting an echocardiogram [heart scan] for her husband.”
Two days before Arakawa was set to see him, however, she cancelled the appointment, saying that Hackman was not well.
Related: Gene Hackman, 95, Was ‘Murdered,’ Hollywood Legend Randy Quaid Alleges
Arakawa’s February 12 Appointment
Arakawa later made another appointment with Cloudberry to discuss hyperbaric therapy, which involves breathing pure oxygen in a pressurized chamber.
“She was not a patient of mine, but one of my patients recommended Cloudberry to her,” he continued. “She made an appointment for herself for February 12. It was for something unrelated to anything respiratory.”
“She called back on the morning of February 12 and spoke to one of our doctors who told her to come in that afternoon,” Dr. Child added. “We made her an appointment but she never showed up. She did not show any symptoms of respiratory distress. The appointment wasn’t for anything related to hantavirus. We tried calling her a couple of times with no reply.”
Police were surprised to learn that Arakawa made this phone call.
“That would indicate to me that she was seeking medical advice or medical help and may have not been feeling well,” Santa Fe Sheriff Adan Mendoza told Good Morning America on Monday.
The appointment was scheduled for 1:15pm, but Arakawa never showed up. This has changed the entire timeline of her death in the eyes of investigators. While it was initially believed that she died on February 11, it is now clear that she likely died on February 12, sometime between her final phone call and 1:15pm. Hackman was then alone in the home with her body for days before succumbing to heart disease sometime around February 18.
Related: Gene Hackman’s Cause Of Death Is Finally Revealed – This Actually Explains Everything
Doctors Shocked By Arakawa’s Hantavirus Death
In his own interview, Dr. Child went on to admit that he was stunned that Arakawa died of hantavirus.
“I am not a hantavirus expert but most patients who have that diagnosis die in hospital,” he said. “It is surprising that Mrs Hackman spoke to my office on the phone on February 10 and again on February 12 and didn’t appear in respiratory distress.”
Other medical experts have expressed their shock over this as well.
“Medical professionals are all scratching their heads over hantavirus as the cause of death,” said one Los Angeles doctor.
“Respiratory failure is not sudden – it is something that worsens over several days,” he explained. “Most people get admitted to the ER because they are having trouble breathing. It’s exceedingly rare for a seemingly healthy 65-year-old to drop dead of it. In fact, no one’s heard of such a thing.”
Hackman’s fans are still in shock over these deaths. Please join us in saying a prayer for Hackman and Arakawa’s loved ones during this tragic time.
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