How Did Gene Hackman's Wife Call Her Doctor 24 Hours AFTER Police Say She Died?!

The mystery of Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa‘s deaths is not over yet…

As Perezcious readers know, the couple was found dead in their Santa Fe, New Mexico home late last month under strange circumstances. Police eventually determined Betsy, 65, died of hantavirus, a rare rodent-born respiratory disease. They place her death date on February 11 — one week before the 95-year-old actor died of heart failure on February 18. They reasoned his Alzheimer’s disease likely caused him to become confused after losing his wife.

The problem? Betsy’s doctor says she spoke with him the day after she supposedly died!

Speaking to DailyMail.com on Sunday, Dr. Josiah Child — a former emergency care specialist who now runs Cloudberry Health in Santa Fe — told the outlet that his office was in communication with Betsy a day after it was claimed she passed away. He explained:

“Mrs Hackman didn’t die on February 11 because she called my clinic on February 12. She’d called me a couple of weeks before her death to ask about getting an echocardiogram [heart scan] for her husband.”

Huh. Authorities claimed the 11th was the last day Betsy was seen in public or sent any outward communication, via email, to anyone, which is why they determined that was likely the day she died. Apparently they were wrong? What’s stranger, though, is the doctor says she made an appointment but was NOT complaining of breathing issues despite apparently being on death’s door with hantavirus:

“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.”

It sounds like she was originally meant to visit with the doc on February 10, but canceled two days before because her husband wasn’t well enough for her to leave. Dr. Child continued:

“She called back on the morning of February 12 and spoke to one of our doctors who told her to come in that afternoon. We made her an appointment but she never showed up. She did not show any symptoms of respiratory distress. The appointment wasn’t for anything related to hantavirus. We tried calling her a couple of times with no reply.”

Hmm. So, it seems like things went downhill really fast! And this is also puzzling the doctor, who pointed out:

“I am not a hantavirus expert but most patients who have that diagnosis die in hospital. 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.”

An LA-based doctor also had a similar confusion with the autopsy results, telling The Mail:

“Medical professionals are all scratching their heads over hantavirus as the cause of death. Respiratory failure is not sudden – it is something that worsens over several days. Most people get admitted to the ER [emergency room] because they are having trouble breathing. It’s exceedingly rare for a seemingly healthy 65-year-old to drop dead of it. In fact, no one’s heard of such a thing.”

Whoa. So this is either an extremely rare case… or did something else also contribute to her death??

According to ABC News on Monday, The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office has already confirmed that Betsy placed a call to the doctor’s office in the early hours of the 12th. Santa Fe Sheriff Adan Mendoza noted on Monday’s episode of Good Morning America that this “would indicate” that she “was seeking medical advice or medical help and may have not been feeling well.”

Cloudberry told GMA that Betsy got in touch about “esoteric treatment” — alternative medicine that focuses on holistic wellness and spiritual or metaphysical principles. They didn’t notice any signs of breathing issues or distress. When she didn’t turn up for her appointment, they called her twice and never heard back. Hmm. Hear more (below):

By the way, Santa Fe County Sheriff spokesperson Denise Womack Avila previously insisted this “case is considered active until we have that information to tie up the timeline,” including cellphone record information. Gene’s three children are also now fighting over his will after his estate was left fully to his deceased wife. If it’s determined she did, in fact, die before Gene, his will would be void and they’d have a better chance of securing his fortune. So, there’s likely still more to come amid this sad situation…

Thoughts? Let us know (below).

[Image via 20th Century Studios/YouTube & DJDM/WENN]