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Gene Hackman lived with wife's dead body for a week, officials reveal why
Gene Hackman died due to a severe heart disease with Alzheimer's as a significant contributing factor, the official report stated.
Hollywood legend Gene Hackman lived with the body of his wife Betsy Hackman for a week in the couple's New Mexico home, before he died of a heart disease himself, a Santa Fe city medical examiner revealed on Friday.
While the two-time Academy Award winner survived a week after his wife died of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, he might have not known of the classical pianist’s passing away due to his advanced Alzheimer's condition.
The 95-year-old died due to a severe heart disease with Alzheimer's as a significant contributing factor, the official report stated.
Gene Hackman‘s autopsy report showed signs of advanced Alzheimer’s disease and officials indicated that he may not have known that his wife had died due to hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a disease transmitted to humans through rodents, while he survived in their house for at least a week. No food was found in his stomach but he was not dehydrated at the time of his death.
According to Dr. Heather Jarrell, chief medical examiner at the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator, there is no reliable scientific method to accurately determine the exact time or date of both the deaths.
“Mr. Hackman’s initial pacemaker data revealed cardiac activity on February 17, with subsequent pacemaker interrogation demonstrating an abnormal rhythm of atrial fibrillation on February 18. Based on the circumstances, it is reasonable to conclude that Ms. Hackman passed away first, with February 11 being the last time that she was known to be alive,” Dr. Jarrell was quoted as saying by the New York Times.
Gene Hackman and Betsy Hackman found dead in separate rooms
Both Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Hackman were found dead in their New Mexico home during a routine wellness check on February 26. Both the bodies were in separate rooms of the house.
According to officials, neither of them showed any signs of external trauma, leading to a belief that there wasn't any foul play involved.
Hackman’s pacemaker had sent its last record on February 17, leading to a conclusion that he had been dead for over a week before the body was found.
