Betsy Arakawa: Gene Hackman’s wife made hospital calls after reported death, raising concerns over timeline

Preliminary data from the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Department shows that Betsy, 65, made multiple phone calls to a Santa Fe medical centre on the morning of February 12 - 24 hours after her reported death on February 11.

The revelation contradicts earlier reports and adds further mystery to the timeline surrounding her passing.

Authorities confirmed the findings to Fox News, saying: “We can now confirm that Mrs Hackman’s phone was utilised on the morning of 12 February to call a medical centre in Santa Fe, Cloudberry Health. A total of three calls were made that morning, all to the medical centre. One incoming call was made to Mrs Hackman from the same medical centre that afternoon. That appeared as a missed call on Mrs Hackman’s cell phone.”

The discovery supports claims made by Dr Josiah Child, a former emergency care specialist who runs Cloudberry Health. He revealed that Betsy had scheduled an appointment for February 12, just days before her death. “She made an appointment for herself for 12 February. It was for something unrelated to anything respiratory,” Dr. Child said.

However, she later cancelled the appointment, citing concern for her husband’s deteriorating health.

Betsy had been diagnosed with hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare and potentially fatal disease transmitted through rodent exposure. However, Dr. Child questioned the severity of her condition.

“It is surprising that Mrs. Hackman spoke to my office on the phone on 10 February and again on 12 February and didn’t appear in respiratory distress,” he noted. “Most patients who have hantavirus die in hospital.”

Adding to the uncertainty, Gene Hackman, 95, who suffered from advanced Alzheimer’s, was reportedly alone in the couple’s home for days after Betsy’s death. Authorities later confirmed he passed away on February 18, a week after his wife. His cause of death was ruled as hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer’s listed as a contributing factor.

Neither Gene nor Betsy’s bodies were discovered until February 26, when a neighbour’s caretaker called 911 after finding them unresponsive. The revelation of Betsy’s phone activity on February 12 raises further questions about the circumstances of her death and the timeline surrounding both deaths.

Meanwhile, legal experts suggest that Gene’s $80 million estate could now pass to his three children—Christopher, 65, Elizabeth, 62, and Leslie, 58—despite none of them being named in his will.

Gene’s will, last updated in 2005, listed only Betsy as the beneficiary. With her passing preceding his, the estate may now be subject to intestate succession laws.

California attorney Tre Lovell told the BBC: “The estate will actually be probated in accordance with intestate succession laws and the children would be lawfully next in line to inherit.”

However, Gene’s children may need to provide legal evidence that their father’s will is invalid due to Betsy’s earlier death.