Investigators found that Betsy Arakawa, Gene Hackman's wife, searched for symptoms of the flu and COVID-19 in the days leading up to her death from hantavirus in February, the New York Post reported. Police have been combing through digital data, voicemail, and security footage in the hopes of piecing together the timeline of the tragedy.
Her internet search history indicates that Arakawa was looking up information such as whether nosebleeds and dizziness were associated with the common seasonal maladies. These searches occurred between Feb. 8 and 12, the day she is thought to have died.
Email records show that Arakawa reached out to her masseuse for advice on whether to seek medical intervention for Hackman. She also searched for Santa Fe health care on the day she is thought to have died.
The 65-year-old was the primary caretaker for Hackman, who was suffering from a heart condition and Alzheimer’s disease. Hackman, 94, died at home nearly a week later, and both bodies went undiscovered for some time after.
According to Fox News, the bodies of Arakawa and Hackman were found on Feb. 26 after both had been long dead. Before then, it appears Arakawa's Google history noted "multiple searches related to flu and COVID symptoms" beginning on Feb. 8.
Two days later, Arakawa searched "flu and nosebleeds" as well as "COVID nosebleeds and finally, "Can COVID cause dizziness?" On Feb. 11, Arawaka sent to an email to massage therapist Katia Van Horn indicating that Hackman had taken a "covid test" due to "flu/cold-like symptoms" but that the test was negative.
"But out of an abundance of caution, I should cancel my appt tomorrow and rebook, say, in a couple weeks, last week of Feb if something is available." Then, on the morning of Feb. 12, her searches included the prompts "How long do the effects of hyperbaric oxygen therapy last" and "Cloudberry Health Santa Fe, New Mexico."
Those would be her final searches. "This data suggests that Betsy was actively researching medical conditions related to COVID-19 and flu-like symptoms in the days leading up to her death," a report from investigators stated.
Police would find their bodies nearly mummified, with Arakawa's German shepherd dog still standing guard near her body. Pace maker records indicate Hackman lived for about a week in the house with her body before succumbing to heart disease and Alzheimer's.
The condition of the couple's home has become fodder for the media, including Page Six. "Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa’s cluttered, rat-infested home revealed in shocking new photos," the media outlet captioned a post to X, formerly Twitter, on Monday.
Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa’s cluttered, rat-infested home revealed in shocking new photos https://t.co/vr22fb1t2y pic.twitter.com/cPO4LK9MnT
— Page Six (@PageSix) April 15, 2025
Hackman's estate had been trying to keep the investigator's photos and police body camera footage out of the media. Now that it has been released, it's part of the late actor's legacy.
The home was certainly cluttered and infested with rodents, which likely contributed to Arakawa's death from a rodent-borne illness. However, it should be noted that the main house was not infested and that Hackman needed constant care, with his wife the only person around to do so.
This is a tragic story with many sad angles. Hackman was a prolific actor, but age and illness caught up with him as it does for everyone. By all accounts, this was a horrible end for a man so beloved by audiences.
