Gene Hackman’s wife Betsy Arakawa died around a week before the legendary actor, but it’s now been revealed she made an urgent phone call in a bid to get medical help
Gene Hackman’s wife Betsy tried to get medical help before she died – and now details of the call have emerged.
The legendary actor, 95, was discovered dead at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico on February 26, along with Betsy, 65, and their dog Zinna. Their bodies were found decomposed and partially mummified, in separate rooms of their property.
Authorities said Hackman died of coronary artery disease, with advanced Alzheimer’s disease as a contributing factor. They believe he likely died on February 18, around a week after Arakawa, who died from Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, a rare virus caused by exposure to infected rats.
Police initially said that Betsy likely died on February 11, but now it’s been revealed that the pianist made multiple calls to a Santa Fe medical centre on February 12, 24 hours after she was initially believed to have died. Sadly, she didn’t receive treatment.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office have now altered their timeline of events, telling Fox News: “We can now confirm that Mrs. Hackman’s phone was utilised on the morning of February 12 to call a medical center in Santa Fe called Cloudberry Health. A total of three calls were made that morning, all to the medical center.
“One incoming call was made to Mrs. Hackman from the same medical center that afternoon. That appeared as a missed call on Mrs. Hackman’s cell phone.”
Cloudberry Health has confirmed receiving several calls from Betsy. Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said: “That would indicate to me that she was seeking medical advice or medical help, and may have not been feeling well.”
Dr Josiah Child, who runs Cloudberry Health, has revealed Betsy’s call was an inquiry about “esoteric treatment”, flagging symptoms such as “some congestion”. He said the musician didn’t mention any signs of hantavirus, such as shortness of breath, other respiratory issues or chest pain.
The doctor said the office called Betsy back twice but never got a response, and that she had cancelled a previously scheduled appointment just days before. This was apparently due to Gene’s ill health.
The doctor previously shared his confusion over the official timeline of events shared by Santa Fe cops. He told The Mail on Sunday: “Mrs Hackman didn’t die on February 11 because she called my clinic on February 12.”
He detailed further: “She’d called me a couple of weeks before her death to ask about getting an echocardiogram [heart scan] for her husband. She was not a patient of mine, but one of my patients recommended Cloudberry to her.
“She made an appointment for herself for February 12. It was for something unrelated to anything respiratory.” The former emergency care specialist also shared his confusion over the nature of her death as she had displayed no signs of hantavirus when she made the calls.
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.” He explained that “most patients who have hantavirus die in hospital.”
Betsy was found lying on the bathroom floor of the mansion, next to a portable heater. Cops said she was “found decomposed with bloating on her face and mummification in her hands and feet”.
Double Oscar winner Gene was in a room near to the kitchen, displayed the same signs of decomposition as his wife. The search warrant said: “The male decedent also showed obvious signs of death, similar and consistent with the female decedent”.
Their dog Zinna was also found dead in a closet near to Betsy’s body, but the other two dogs – Nikita and Bear – were found alive roaming the property. Both dogs have now been safely rescued but it’s unclear what will happen to them next.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
