Gene Hackman: That says the autopsy report

Around two months after the death of Hollywood star Gene Hackman (1930-2025) and his wife Betsy Arakawa (1959-2025), the actor’s final autopsy report has now been published. The result,, reveals details of Hackman’s health condition before his death.

The find of the two corpses at the end of February had caused a lot of speculation, as it was initially unclear how and when the couple died. The official cause of death was then announced in March. During a press conference it was announced that Arakawa was last seen alive in public on February 11th. The authorities assumed that this was also their day of death. Later, however, the responsible sheriff explained that Arakawa probably called a medical service on February 12. According to the forensic medicine, it died as a result of an infection with the Hantavirus.

Hackman, on the other hand, probably only died after his wife on February 18. The actor’s pacemaker recorded his heartbeat for the last time. He died of the consequences of heart disease.

According to the forensic doctor in New Mexico, the star had a “prehistory of congestive heart failure” and “severe chronic hypertensive changes” on the kidneys, as can now be seen from the autopic report. “The autopsy resulted in a severe atherosclerotic and hypertensive cardiovascular disease, in which stents were used for the coronary arteries and a bypass transplant, as well as an earlier aortic valve replacement,” it says. Hackman was used in April 2019 a “bi-ventricular pacemaker”. In addition, “neurodegenerative features” were found in the examinations “that match the Alzheimer’s disease”.

Hackman was tested negatively for the Hantavirus. “The test on carbon monoxide showed a saturation of less than five percent, which corresponds to a normal area,” the report shows. The toxicological finding also has an increased acetone level, which indicates a “longer period of fasting”. It is assumed that Hackman had not eaten anything for a long time before his death.