Gene Hackman Disease Horror: Hollywood Icon's Ultra-Secret $4million Compound Condemned as 'Rat Infested Breeding Ground' For Killer Illnesses After Wife Betsy Arakawa Died From Hantavirus
Gene Hackman's $4million compound in Santa Fe was infested by rats which contributed to wife Betsy Arakawa's death.
April 15 2025, Published 8:38 a.m. ET
Gene Hackman's New Mexico home was a "breeding ground" for hantavirus, according to a new investigation into the deaths of the Oscar winner and wife Betsy Arakawa.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the New Mexico Department of Public Health conducted a health assessment on the property, where the couple were both found dead in mysterious circumstances in February.
Hackman and Arakawa shared three dogs, one of which was found dead in their property during the search for the couple's bodies.
After carbon monoxide poisoning was ruled out, it was later concluded Arakawa, 65, died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome first, around February 12, with Hackman, 95, dying a few days later on February 18 from severe heart disease, which was exacerbated by Alzheimer's disease and kidney disease.
A week after their bodies were discovered, the health assessment of the $4million compound in Santa Fe took place and delivered some intriguing results.
The department concluded dead rodents and their nests were found in "eight detached outbuildings" on the Hackman property making it a "breeding ground" for the hantavirus.
Deadly hantavirus typically spreads through rodent urine and droppings that one may come into contact with when cleaning a basement or an attic.
Arakawa died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome after carbon monoxide poisoning was ruled out.
There were droppings found in three garages, two casitas, and three sheds on the property.
Additionally, there was a live rodent, dead rodent and a rodent nest found in three more garages on the property.
There were also two vehicles seen on the estate that had evidence of rodents, and they even found traps in the buildings as well, suggesting this had been an ongoing issue for the Hackmans.
The health assessment was conducted to assess whether first responders or others who were on the property were safe from the virus.
Results revealed the couple's primary residence was deemed "low-risk" with no signs of a rodent infestation inside.
Hackman and his wife Arakawa lived a very private and quiet life in Santa Fe during their final years.
The hantavirus was first identified in South Korea in 1978 when researchers isolated the virus from a field mouse.
It is rare in the U.S., with fewer than 50 cases reported yearly. For reference, there are roughly 2,000 cases of West Nile Virus reported in the US annually.
However, after Arakawa's death, the virus claimed three more victims in the town of Mammoth Lakes, California.
Hackman's 1995 will listed Arakawa – who he married in 1991 – lists Arakawa as his sole inheritor.
Arakawa's will revealed if they died within 90 days of each other, the proceeds from the estate will be donated to charity.
Hackman's daughter Leslie Anne, left, seen above with her sister Elizabeth, may inherit Hackman's property empire.
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However, RadarOnline.com told last month the actor's three adult children are set to scoop the entirety of his $80million fortune, due to the couple dying around the same time.
Legal expert and powerhouse attorney Goldie Schon said: "For unforeseen reasons, these two people passed similarly in time, but oddly enough, she passed before him, and as a result, we have a situation where now, even though his desires were for his estate to go to her in its entirety without even providing it to his adult children, Betsy did pass before him.
"And what does that do? Now we're in a situation where his will and trust say that everything goes to her, but she died first.
"It's going to be a fight, of course, but it's simple because it's as if Gene Hackman passed without a will."
