However, at a press conference on Friday, law enforcement officials from Santa Fe County revealed the true cause of death to the public.

The cause of death for the Oscar-winning actor has finally been revealed, but it might leave some with more questions than answers. On Friday, March 7, the Chief Medical Examiner for New Mexico at the office of the Medical Investigator, Dr. Heather Jarrell, said that she believes that he passed away on February 18.

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According to her findings, he passed away due to hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease with Alzheimer’s disease as a significant contributing factor, as reported by Us Weekly. The family was informed of the autopsy findings before they were released to the public.

Dr. Jarrell went on to say that she believed that Betsy Arakawa died about a week prior to her husband, on the evening of February 11. “The cause of death for Mrs. Hackman is hantavirus pulmonary syndrome,” she stated. “The cause of death is natural.”

In a statement shared with the public, the Santa Fe County’s Sheriff’s Office stated, “On February 26, 2025, at approximately 1:45 p.m., Santa Fe County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to an address on Old Sunset Trail in Hyde Park where Gene Hackman, 95, and his wife Betsy Arakawa, 64, and a dog were found deceased.”

In their initial statement, they clarified that “foul play is not suspected as a factor in those deaths at this time.”

His daughters, Elizabeth and Lesie, and his granddaughter, Annie, released a statement to the public mourning the loss of the legendary actor. “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Gene Hackman, and his wife, Betsy,” they said at the time. “He was loved and admired by millions around the world for his brilliant acting career, but to us, he was always just Dad and Grandpa. We will miss him sorely and are devastated by the loss.”

They previously told TMZ that they suspected that he passed away from carbon monoxide poisoning, prompting County Sheriff Adan Mendoza to explain that they were “waiting on approval of a search warrant” before they could investigate the premises. After finding no gas leaks on the property, they deemed the deaths “suspicious,” in a copy of the report obtained by TMZ.

In the affidavit, a detective concluded that “The death of the two deceased individuals to be suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation because the reporting party found the front door of the residence unsecured and opened, deputies observed a healthy dog running loose on the property, another healthy dog near the deceased female, a deceased dog laying 10-15 feet from the deceased female in a closet of the bathroom, the heater being moved, the pill bottle being opened and pills scattered next to the female, the male decedent being located in a separate room of the residence, and no obvious signs of a gas leak.”

They went on to state that Arakawa was found unconscious next to a space heater and in a “state of decomposition with bloating in her face and mummification in her hands and feet.” Sources told TMZ that Hackman was found in a separate bedroom, fully clothed, with sunglasses next to him.

Shortly before the actor’s passing, friends of the family revealed that they had been concerned for his health for months. Daniel and Barbara Lenihan, who said they had known the couple for over thirty years, claimed that Hackman had become increasingly “homebound.”

She noticed that he had “quit riding his bike through the neighborhood” about a year ago and told Peoplemagazine, “He was really slipping there.” She also described Arakawa as “so fit” and “in perfect health.”

RIP to Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa.