Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa’s dog Zinna — found dead alongside the couple in February –likely died of starvation and dehydration, according to an autopsy report obtained by The Associated Press.
The report, which came from the state Department of Agriculture’s veterinary lab, said the partial mummification of the dog could have obscured changed in organs, but there was no evidence of poisoning, disease or trauma that could have led to death.
Inside the dog’s stomach was very little aside from small amounts of hair and bile.
The kelpie mix was just one of the couple’s three dogs. Its body was discovered in a crate in a bathroom closet near Arakawa’s body. The couple’s two other dogs survived.
The two surviving dogs allegedly helped first responders find the actor’s dead body after they searched his home for more than 30 minutes, Fire Chief Brian Moya told USA Today earlier this month.
As we previously reported, Hackman, 95, and his wife, 65, were found dead in their Santa Fe home on February 27.
Arakawa also showed signs of decomposition and partial mummification by the time authorities discovered their bodies.
The Santa Fe detective who examined the scene said Arakawa had “bloating in her face and mummification in her hands and feet.”
Deputies found Arakawa lying on her right side in the bathroom with a black space heater near her head, which they believe could have tumbled off the counter if she abruptly fell.
Autopsy reports for both the “French Connection” star and Arakawa revealed that Arakawa died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), a rare rodent-transmitted virus. The manner of death was natural.
Hackman’s cause of death was hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and “evidence of advanced Alzheimer’s disease” as a significant contributory factor.
Sheriff Adan Mendoza said he believed Hackman was alone with his dead wife for seven days before he died.
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