Gene Hackman investigators reveal heartbreaking ‘reason’ why his dog Zinna died – and why their other pets survived

Those investigating the deaths of Gene Hackman, his wife and their beloved dog have revealed a heartbreaking reason why their pet died but their others didn’t.

The Oscar winner’s wife Betsy Arakawa, 65, died on February 11 at their New Mexico home from a flu-like infection caught from rat faeces.

Hackman, 95, died there a week later from heart disease, with his advanced Alzheimer’s ‘a significant factor’. Their bodies were found on February 26.

Their dog Zinna was also dead when the Hackmans’ bodies were discovered.

The 12-year-old Australian Kelpie mix was found in the same bathroom as Betsy’s body- just 10 to 15 feet from her owner.

The dog had been locked in a crate after having a medical procedure, and there was no food in its stomach.

Two other dogs who were roaming free at the home survived.

While police are still waiting for the dog’s necropsy results, New Mexico State Public Health Veterinarian Erin Phipps suggested that dehydration and starvation are two likely causes that Zinna died when the other pets survived.

Phipps could not completely rule out Zinna being exposed to hantavirus, the infection that led to Betsy’s death, but she deemed it extremely unlikely as ‘dogs do not get sick from hantavirus.’

The reclusive couple’s dogs, who were lovingly cared for by the couple, were left alone when they died.

A German Shepherd named Bear and a second dog named Nikita were found running around the 12 acre property – with a dog door allowing them access to food and water that likely kept them alive.

The dogs were discovered loose when the mummified bodies of Hackman and his wife were discovered on February 26 by two maintenance workers. The pets are now being cared for.

Zinna, the dog that died, ‘was always attached to Betsy at the hip and it was a beautiful relationship’, it’s been reported.

The day she died, Betsy had collected Zinna from the vet on February 9, where the canine had undergone an operation, Sheriff Adan Mendoza of Santa Fe County said.

Possibly hours before her death, she sent an email to her massage therapist before visiting a grocery store in the afternoon, The New York Times reported.

She was also caught on CCTV visiting a pharmacy where she was wearing a face mask, which friends said she often did to avoid transporting any illnesses to her medically vulnerable, older husband.

Betsy also stopped at a local pet food store later the same afternoon before returning to her local area at approximately 5.15 pm, the sheriff said.

She did not respond to any emails after that day, leading police to believe that was the period in which she passed.

At some point after returning home, she began to decline rapidly. She eventually headed to the bathroom – her final resting place.

She was found lying on the floor with her head next to a space heater and thyroid medication pills scattered around her.

Authorities have determined that Betsy died of a lung infection spread from rats, in the latest twist in the case.

Medical investigators in New Mexico said in a press conference on Friday that the 65-year-old was infected with hantavirus which caused a deadly build-up of fluid in her lungs, known medically as hentavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS).

HPS is so rare in the US that only one or two people die every year, and there have only been around 1,000 cases in the past three decades, mostly among farmers, hikers and campers and homeless populations.

The virus is spread through the inhalation of airborne particles containing the virus, which is typically found in the urine, droppings, or saliva of infected rodents.

HPS, which initially presents with flu like symptoms, can progress rapidly, leading to breathing problems, low blood pressure, and organ failure.

Arakawa may have caught the ultra-rare but deadly virus from the garage of the couple’s mansion, experts have said.

It is understood that while there was no rodent activity in the main house, there were rodent droppings in the couple’s garage and outhouses.

Unforgiven star Hackman may have wandered around the sprawling 9000 square foot home, lost and confused, for seven days – without his partner of three decades by his side to feed and care for him, or look after their three treasured dogs,

Left to fend for himself and with his wife’s body decomposing in their bathroom, Hackman, who was already in ‘very poor health’, went without food.

An autopsy showed his stomach was empty at the time of his death.

He was found dead with his cane and sunglasses by his side in a room just off the kitchen following an apparent fall – hinting he may have been on his way out of the home before his weak heart gave in.

His pacemaker’s last recorded activity was on February 18 – but help would not arrive until over a week later.

Dr Heather Jarrell, Chief Medical Investigator for the state of New Mexico, said their deaths had both been ruled as natural, and that no signs of internal or external trauma were found.

This followed days of intense speculation around the seemingly mysterious deaths.