The authorities in New Mexico have recovered evidence that Betsy Arakawa, the wife of the actor Gene Hackman, died at least one day later than they had previously estimated.
The New Mexico authorities initially believed that Ms. Arakawa had likely died of a rare viral infection on Feb. 11, because that was when she was last seen publicly and stopped returning email correspondence.
But after analyzing her cellphone, investigators learned that Ms. Arakawa had made three phone calls on the morning of Feb. 12, Denise Womack-Avila, a spokeswoman for the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office, said on Monday. She said that Ms. Arakawa had made the calls to a concierge medical service, Cloudberry Health.
Dr. Josiah Child, the lead physician there, said in an interview that the clinic called Ms. Arakawa back that morning and scheduled an appointment for that afternoon. He said she had reported feeling congested but that there were no signs of respiratory distress. Ms. Arakawa did not show up for her appointment that afternoon, Dr. Child said.
“I suspect that she was starting to feel ill and that’s why she reached out to us,” he said.
Ms. Arakawa and Mr. Hackman were both found dead in their secluded home outside of Santa Fe late last month. The state medical examiner concluded that Ms. Arakawa, 65, died from the effects of hantavirus, which is contracted through exposure to excrement from rodents. The virus can cause flulike symptoms before progressing to shortness of breath, as well as cardiac and lung failure.
They said that Mr. Hackman, who had Alzheimer’s, spent another week in the house with her body and died Feb. 18 of heart disease.
The timeline of the couple’s death has shifted as law enforcement has recovered new information about their final outings and communications. It was about two weeks after Ms. Arakawa’s death that a maintenance worker and a neighborhood security guard discovered their bodies.
Dr. Child said Ms. Arakawa, who had not been a patient of the clinic’s before, had initially scheduled an appointment for Feb. 12, then canceled it two days before, saying that she needed to take care of her husband. The clinic rescheduled the appointment after Ms. Arakawa called again that morning, he said.
The clinic called her that afternoon after she did not show up for the appointment, but she did not pick up, Dr. Child said. Her contact with the clinic was first reported by The Daily Mail.
Mr. Hackman’s body was found in the mudroom of their home, while Ms. Arakawa’s was found in the bathroom. One of their three dogs, an Australian Kelpie mix, was found dead in a crate near Ms. Arakawa.
A report from a veterinary lab that examined the dog’s body determined that the dog, Zinna, most likely died from dehydration and starvation. The dog had recently undergone surgery to the small intestine, the report said. The authorities had said a recent medical procedure could have been a reason the dog had been kept in a crate.
The authorities were able to estimate the time of Mr. Hackman’s death by using information from his pacemaker, which led them to conclude that he died on Feb. 18, nearly a week after his wife’s death.
Representatives for the couple have started the process of managing Mr. Hackman’s estate.
An Oscar-winning actor whose movie career covered more than four decades, Mr. Hackman has left an estate worth millions.
According to a copy of his will from 2005 that was filed in New Mexico state court, Mr. Hackman had planned to leave his entire estate to Ms. Arakawa. His will also named her as his personal representative, the person tasked with handling his estate. The will indicated that if she was unable to represent him, the duties would go to a lawyer named Michael G. Sutin, who died in 2019. The will named Julia L. Peters as his personal representative in the event that Mr. Sutin could not serve.
Mr. Hackman had three children, Christopher Hackman, Elizabeth Jean Hackman and Leslie Anne Allen, from his prior marriage to his first wife, Faye Maltese.
The children are listed in Mr. Hackman’s will, though not expressly as beneficiaries. The will mentions multiple trusts, the details of which are not public.
Mr. Hackman’s personal representative, Ms. Peters, described the three children as heirs in court papers.
A copy of Ms. Arakawa’s will that was filed in court indicated that she intended to leave her assets to Mr. Hackman if he were to survive her, and to charity if he did not. Her will was also signed in 2005.
The court filing listed Ms. Arakawa’s only heir as her mother, Yoshie Feaster, who is 91.
Last week, Ms. Peters asked a court to prevent the authorities from releasing police footage or photographic evidence related to the couple’s death. “During their lifetime, the Hackmans placed significant value on their privacy and took affirmative, vigilant steps to safeguard their privacy,” the filing stated.
