A doctor for Betsy Arakawa, the wife of actor Gene Hackman, has claimed she called his private clinic one day after police said she died in a chilling new twist
A new update on the deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa has been released, as overnight revelations from Betsy’s doctor cast doubt on the official police narrative.
Betsy, 65, was reported to have succumbed to a rare virus associated with rodents, but her doctor has now claimed she contacted his private clinic a day after police say she passed away. According to the Santa Fe medical examiner, Betsy died from hantavirus, a scarce rat-borne illness, on February 11 – a whole week before Hackman’s death due to heart failure and Alzheimer’s disease complications.
However, Dr Josiah Child, who operates Cloudberry Health in Santa Fe and is a former emergency care specialist, 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.”, reports the Mirror.
Dr Child also mentioned that Betsy had phoned him two days prior to her scheduled appointment to cancel, explaining that she couldn’t make it as her husband was unwell.
He said: “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.”
Besty was tragically discovered on the bathroom floor of the couple’s Santa Fe home. Gene was found lifeless on a utility room floor, his pacemaker indicating he passed away on February 18.
A post-mortem examination revealed an empty stomach, suggesting that due to his Alzheimer’s, Gene might not have realised his wife of 34 years had passed away.
Adding to the heartbreak, one of their three dogs, which was crated while recovering from surgery, also perished from starvation and dehydration.
In the latest revelation, it has emerged that the late Gene Hackman’s will makes no mention of his three children, potentially setting up a fierce battle over his $80 million fortune.
It seems all of Hackman’s riches were left to his wife Betsy, completely overlooking the Academy Award-winning actor’s three offspring: son Christopher and daughters Leslie and Elizabeth.
Should both Hackman and his spouse have died within a 90-day period, all of Betsy’s assets would be donated to various charities. Reports from US media suggest that Hackman’s son has engaged a top lawyer specialising in inheritance disputes, signalling a potential fight over the current situation.
Dr Heather Jarrell, New Mexico’s chief medical examiner, stated at a Santa Fe press conference that it was “reasonable to conclude” Betsy had succumbed to hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. This rare yet potentially lethal disease is transmitted to humans via infected rodent droppings or saliva.
She revealed that Hackman passed away a week later on February 18 due to “hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer’s disease as a significant contributory factor.”
Dr Jarrell commented: “Hackman showed evidence of advanced Alzheimer’s disease. He was in a very poor state of health. He had significant heart disease, and I think ultimately that is what resulted in his in his death.”
Detectives previously reported finding Hackman’s body in a mud room, while his wife was discovered lying on a bathroom floor.
Dr Jarrell added: “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.
“Lastly, clinically, hantavirus infection is characterised by flu-like symptoms consisting of fever, muscle aches, cough, and sometimes vomiting that can progress to shortness of breath and cardiac or heart failure and lung failure.”
Hantaviruses are passed on to humans through the infected urine, droppings or saliva of certain species of mice and rats. The hantavirus strain found in the south west of the United States has a mortality rate of about 38% to 50%, and cannot be transmitted from person to person, according to Dr Jarrell.
Earlier this week, The Mirror reported the actor’s dogs led paramedics to his body in a final act of loyalty. Bear, a German Shepherd, and Nikita, an Akita-shepherd mix, kept running up and barking at the crew attending the scene, before darting off.
Initially, the police thought the dogs were just being playful, but they soon realised that the dogs were leading them to the mudroom where Hackman’s body was. Paramedics had already discovered Betsy’s body but had spent half an hour searching the house without success until the dogs stepped in.
“They realized (the dog) was trying to say, ‘Hey, come over here! Come over here!'” Santa Fe Fire Chief Brian Moya told USA Today. Hackman was found in the mudroom which was located at the far end of the house.
A back door was left open, allowing the dogs to move freely in and out.
The dogs, who survived the incident, are currently in a state of “limbo” and cannot be rehomed until the couple’s wills have been read. They are currently staying at a dog boarding facility in Santa Fe, New Mexico, after being rescued from the couple’s home.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
