Post-mortem results show 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.
Gene Hackman was unable to call for help after his wife, Betsy Arakawa, died from a rat-borne virus, as he did not own a mobile phone and had advanced Alzheimer's. Hackman died a week later from heart disease. They were found dead in separate rooms of their Santa Fe home along with their dog, Zinna, who had been found dead in a kennel.