Gene Hackman died of heart disease, while his wife Betsy Arakawa's cause of death was hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. But questions remain about how their dog Zinna died in a crate.
Investigators into Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa's deaths are shedding light on how the couple's dog, who was also found dead at their New Mexico home on Feb. 26, could have died.
Hackman's cause of death has been determined as hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease with Alzheimer's as a significant contributing factor, officials said in a March 7 press conference. Investigators believe he passed away around Feb. 18 due to the readings on his pacemaker.
Meanwhile, authorities said Arakawa—the Oscar winner's wife of over three decades—died of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a severe respiratory illness ransmitted through rodent excrements. Her date of death has been established to be sometime around Feb. 11, the last time she was seen alive on surveillance footage.
While an official cause of death for the couple's Australian Kelpie mix Zinna has not been confirmed, it is possible that the 12-year-old animal—who was discovered in a closed kennel near Arakawa's body—died of dehydration and starvation, according to New Mexico State Public Health Veterinarian Erin Phipps.
"Given the timelines presented," she told reporters, "it is a possibility."
Officials also noted that given Hackman's "advanced state" of Alzheimer's, a neurodegenerative brain disorder, it was "quite possible that he was not aware" of his surroundings—including that Arakawa had died or that Zinna was in a crate.
According to authorities, Zinna had also received an unspecified medical treatment prior to Hackman and Arakawa's passing.
"We know from our investigation that on February 9, 2025, she picked up Zinna from Gruda Veterinary Hospital," Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza shared at the press conference. "There was a procedure that was done with the dog, which may explain why the dog was in a crate at the residence."
Necropsy results for Zinna are pending, per Mendoza.
However, it is highly unlikely that Zinna died from the same disease that killed Arakawa, according to officials. As Phipps put it, "Dogs do not get sick from hantavirus."
"These viruses are zoonotic," she noted, "meaning they are transmitted from animals to humans."
Phipps added that the risk of exposure in Hackman and Arakawa's home was "low, similar to other well-maintained houses in New Mexico," but that investigators did "identify signs of rodent entry" in other structures on their property.
"Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome is a rare disease caused by hantaviruses, but a small number of human infections are found every year in New Mexico," she said. "This is a serious disease."
For a look back at Hackman and Arakawa through the years, keep reading…
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