A week after Gene Hackman and his wife were found dead, state health investigators in New Mexico found a severe rat infestation at their home, according to a report.
Hackman, 95, died days after his wife and caregiver, 65-year-old Betsy Arakawa, was killed by a rat-borne illness.
New Mexico officials who performed a health assessment of the home found rat droppings, dead rats, and rat nests in some outbuildings and garages, the Daily Mail reported.
The discovery could explain how Hackman's wife came to contract hantavirus, a rare but deadly respiratory disease that spreads through infected rat feces.
Police bodycam video released Tuesday shows deputies discovering the couple's partially mummified remains inside their squalid home.
One of the couple's surviving German Shepherds was found guarding Arakawa's body in the bathroom. Hackman was found on the other side of the house.
Police also shed light on Arakawa's last hours alive, sharing details of her final communications, an Amazon order and internet searches.
The new information was shared over the objections of Hackman's family, who sought to block records from the death investigation for privacy reasons. A judge allowed most of those records to be released but ordered images of the bodies to be blurred.
According to a police report, Arakawa used Google to look up if COVID causes dizziness or nosebleeds on February 10.
The next day, she emailed her message therapist to cancel an appointment, while noting her husband had flu and cold-like symptoms, although he tested negative for COVID. Arakawa also ordered oxygen canisters from Amazon to help with breathing.
It was previously reported that she sought medical treatment from a local clinic. She never answered a missed call placed on February 12, her presumed date of death. Hantavirus can kill a person within 24 to 48 hours of the first symptoms, if left untreated.
Hackman may have been unaware that his wife was dead for several days before he succumbed to heart disease, with Alzheimer's a contributing factor, on February 18. One of the couple's dogs also died from starvation and dehydration.
Their bodies were not found until a week later on February 26, when neighborhood security made the grim discovery.
Hackman, one of the most esteemed actors of his generation and an Oscar winner, had been out of the public eye for years before his shocking death.
