Gene Hackman’s Wife Called Doctor the Day After Authorities Say She Died

Gene Hackman’s wife Betsy Arakawa was reportedly still alive on February 12, one day after authorities theorized she had probably died. 

According to ABC News, officials now say Betsy called a doctor at Cloudberry Health medical concierge service the morning of February 12.

Santa Fe Sheriff Adan Mendoza told the outlet, “That would indicate to me that she was seeking medical advice or medical help and may not have been feeling well.”

Although Arakawa’s cause of death was determined to be hantavirus, a respiratory virus that presents like the flu, a doctor at Cloudberry said Betsy showed no signs of breathing issues or distress when she made that call.

The doctor added that she was calling for an esoteric treatment, which is typically a treatment outside of mainstream medicine, like acupuncture or energy healing.

The office tried to reach Betsy, 65, twice after the call, but did not hear back.

ABC News reports Arakawa was last seen at a pharmacy on February 11. Officials believed she had died that night after finding she had not opened or answered emails after a certain time. 

Dr. Josiah Child, who runs Cloudberry Health, told The Mail on Sunday, “Mrs. Hackman didn't die on February 11 because she called my clinic on February 12.”

He went on to explain, “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.”

Arakawa ended up canceling the February 12 appointment, but Dr. Child added, “She called back on the morning of February 12 and spoke to one of our doctors, who told her to come in that afternoon.”

He revealed, “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.”

While it now seems Betsy died February 12, her husband is still believed to have died about a week later, on February 18. Hackman’s cause of death was listed as hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease with Alzheimer’s disease as a significant contributing factor. 

One of the couple’s dogs, Zinna, was crated in a closet near where Betsy died, and likely died of starvation and dehydration.

Last week, a rep for the estate requested a judge block the release of death scene photos and DailyMail.com reports that on Monday a Santa Fe judge issued a temporary restraining order against the release of pictures of the Hackmans' bodies.