Questions have been raised about the timeline of events leading up to the deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa.
According to RadarOnline.com, Dr. Josiah Child of Cloudberry Health in Santa Fe has contradicted the Santa Fe medical examiner’s initial report, claiming Arakawa, 65, died a week before her husband, 95.
According to Dr. Child, Hackman’s wife contacted his clinic on February 12, one day after the medical examiner reported her death. She also canceled a prior appointment, citing her husband’s poor health as the reason.
On February 11, the medical examiner attributed Arakawa’s death to hantavirus, a rare respiratory disease transmitted by rodents.
They claimed she died a week before the Mississippi Burning actor passed away on February 18 from heart failure and Alzheimer’s.
Dr. Child stated: “She called back on the morning of February 12 and spoke with one of our doctors, who advised her to come in that afternoon.
“We scheduled her appointment, but she never showed up. She showed no signs of respiratory distress. The appointment was unrelated to hantavirus. We tried calling her a few times and received no response.”
The couple was discovered in their Santa Fe home, Betsy on the bathroom floor surrounded by pills and Gene in a utility room nearby.
Unfortunately, one of their dogs also died from starvation and dehydration.
Dr. Child’s revelation has added another layer of mystery to the circumstances surrounding Awakawa’s death, as the drama over the Hollywood actor’s inheritance heats up.
According to California attorney Tre Lovell, the actor’s will, last updated in 2005, named his wife as the sole beneficiary.
If she died before Hackman, her estate could bypass the will entirely.
According to legal experts, this timeline may indicate that Hackman’s estate passes to his three children, Christopher, 65, Elizabeth, 62, and Leslie, 58, under intestate succession laws.
Lovell told reporters: “The estate will actually be probated in accordance with intestate succession laws, and the children would be lawfully next in line to inherit.”
The state attorney also stated that the actor’s will was last updated in 2005.
Awakawa’s will further complicate matters.
She had left her assets to her husband, with the provision that if they died within 90 days of each other, her estate would be placed in a trust and donated to charity.
