After the cause of death for both Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa was revealed, the case seemed to have come to an end. However, Arakaw's reported doctor nos now claimed that she called him on February 12. That is one day after her recorded day of death.
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Dr. Josiah Child, who runs Cloudberry Health in Santa Fe, New Mexico, spoke with the Daily Mail on Sunday, March 16. "Mrs Hackman didn't die on February 11 because she called my clinic on February 12," Child claimed.
"She'd called me a couple of weeks before her death to ask about getting an echocardiogram [heart scan] for her husband," Child continued. "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."
Missed Appointment
According to Child, Betsy Arakawa called on February 12 and spoke with one of the Cloudberry Health doctors. She was supposed to arrive at the Santa Fe medical practice by the afternoon. However, Arakawa never showed up to the appointment. Moreover, Dr. Child said that Arakawa's appointment wasn't related to hantavirus, her recorded cause of death. They tried calling her, to no avail.
Dr. Child even disputed Arakawa's cause of death. According to an L.A.-based doctor who spoke with the Daily Mail, it has left other medical professionals scratching their heads. The doctor specified that respiratory failure is characterized by constant health deterioration and it is not sudden.
"I am not a hantavirus expert but most patients who have that diagnosis die in hospital," Child added. "It is surprising that Mrs Hackman spoke to my office on the phone on February 10 and again on February 12 and didn't appear in respiratory distress."
While the cause of death for Betsy Arakawa was determined to be hantavirus, Gene Hackman's death was caused by Alzheimer's disease and heart disease. It is believed that Arakawa died first, followed by her husband. Hackman, given his Alzheimer's, was unaware of his wife's passing. One of their dogs was also found dead, most likely dead of starvation and dehydration.
