Besty Arakawa, 65, was found on the bathroom floor of the isolated Santa Fe home she shared with Gene Hackman surrounded by pills with her husband on the floor of a utility room 20ft away

The mystery surrounding the deaths of Gene Hackman and wife Besy Arakawa took a disturbing new twist overnight as Betsy’s doctor made claims that eerily contradict police accounts to far.

A doctor for 65-year-old Betsy, who was said to have died of a rare virus linked to rodents, has claimed she called his private clinic 24 hours after police claim she died.

The Santa Fe medical examiner claimed a post-mortem examination showed Betsy died of hantavirus, a rare rat-borne respiratory disease, on February 11 – seven days before Hackman died of heart failure combined with Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr Josiah Child, a former emergency care specialist who now runs Cloudberry Health in Santa Fe, New Mexico, told The Mail on Sunday: “Mrs Hackman didn’t die on February 11 because she called my clinic on February 12.”

He explained: “She’d called me a couple of weeks before her death to ask about getting an echocardiogram [heart scan] for her husband. She was not a patient of mine, but one of my patients recommended Cloudberry to her. She made an appointment for herself for February 12. It was for something unrelated to anything respiratory.”

Dr Child said Besty called him two days before her appointment to cancel it, saying she couldn’t attend as her husband was not well.

He added: “She called back on the morning of February 12 and spoke to one of our doctors who told her to come in that afternoon. We made her an appointment but she never showed up. She did not show any symptoms of respiratory distress. The appointment wasn’t for anything related to hantavirus. We tried calling her a couple of times with no reply.”

Experts fear Gene didn’t realise Betsy had died given his Alzheimer’s ( 
Image:
Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)

The pair were married for 34 years ( 
Image:
Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Besty was found on the bathroom floor of the couple’s Santa Fe home surrounded by pills. Gene died on a utility room floor with his pacemaker showing he died on February 18.

Tragically, a post-mortem examination revealed there was no food in his stomach, and investigators believe his Alzheimer’s meant he may not have realised his wife of 34 years had died.

One of their three dogs, which was in a crate recovering from surgery, died of starvation and dehydration.

The shock claims comes after it emerged that the late Gene Hackman’s will does not include provisions for his three children, setting the stage for what could be a stark tussle over his $80 million estate.

In a surprise turn of events, it appears all Hackman’s wealth was designated to his wife Betsy, bypassing the Oscar winner’s three children: son Christopher and daughters Leslie and Elizabeth.

Should both Hackman and his wife have passed within 90 days of each other, the entirety of Betsy’s assets would go to various charities. US media report that Hackman’s son has hired a leading solicitor experienced in legacy disputes, hinting at a possible challenge to the current state of affairs.

The house owned by actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa ( 
Image:
AP)
Dr Heather Jarrell, chief medical examiner for New Mexico, told a press conference in Santa Fe it was “reasonable to conclude” that Besty had died of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. The condition is a rare but potentially fatal disease which spreads to humans through infected rodent droppings or saliva.

She reported that Hackman died a week later on February 18 of “hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer’s disease as a significant contributory factor.”

Dr Jarrell said: “Hackman showed evidence of advanced Alzheimer’s disease. He was in a very poor state of health. He had significant heart disease, and I think ultimately that is what resulted in his in his death.”

Hackman’s body was found in a mud room, and his wife was found lying on the floor in a bathroom, detectives previously said.

Dr Jarrell said: “Based on the circumstances, it is reasonable to conclude that Ms Hackman passed away first with February 11 being the last time that she was known to be alive.

“Lastly, clinically, hantavirus infection is characterised by flu-like symptoms consisting of fever, muscle aches, cough, and sometimes vomiting that can progress to shortness of breath and cardiac or heart failure and lung failure.”

Hantaviruses are transmitted to humans through the infected urine, droppings or saliva of certain species of mice and rats. The mortality of the hantavirus strain in the south west of the United States is about 38% to 50%, and is not transmissible from person to person, Dr Jarrell added.

The Mirror told this week how the actor’s dogs heartbreakingly led paramedics to the actor’s body in a final act of loyalty. Bear, a German Shepherd, and Nikita, an Akita-shepherd mix, kept running up and barking at the crew attending the scene, before running off. Cops thought the dogs wanted to play before realising they were leading them to the mudroom where Hackman’s body lay.

Paramedics had found Betsy’s body but had spent 30minutes searching the house to no avail until the dogs’ intervention.

“They realized (the dog) was trying to say, ‘Hey, come over here! Come over here!’” Santa Fe Fire Chief Brian Moya told USA Today. Hackman was found in the mudroom which was in the far end of the house. A back door was propped open, allowing the dogs to go in and out.

The surviving dogs are currently in a state of “limbo” and cannot be rehomed until the couple’s wills have been read. They are presently residing at a dog boarding facility in Santa Fe, New Mexico, after being rescued from the couple’s home