Sheriff Adan Mendoza of the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office and public-health officials on Monday said autopsy results show that 65-year-old Betsy Hackman died of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome while her husband, 95-year-old Gene Hackman, died of hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease with Alzheimer’s disease noted as a contributing condition.

The finding, announced at a news conference with officials from the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator and the New Mexico Department of Health, followed a multiagency investigation that began after the couple and their dog were found at their Santa Fe residence. "The cause of death for Miss Betsy Hackman, aged 65 years, is hantavirus pulmonary syndrome," said Dr. Heather Jarrell, chief medical examiner for New Mexico’s Office of the Medical Investigator.

The confirmation matters because hantavirus pulmonary syndrome is a rare but serious zoonotic illness carried by rodents. "The hantavirus found in New Mexico, the Sin Nombre virus, is found primarily in deer mice," said Dr. Erin Phipps, New Mexico’s state public health veterinarian, who described how infections typically arise from exposure to rodent excrement and emphasized prevention steps for homeowners and responders.

Autopsies and testing
Dr. Jarrell said she performed an autopsy on Betsy Hackman on Feb. 27 and that Dr. Daniel Gallego performed a full autopsy on Gene Hackman the same day. Laboratory testing at a clinical lab with confirmatory testing at the Scientific Laboratories Division was positive for hantavirus in Betsy Hackman and negative for hantavirus in Gene Hackman, Jarrell said. Both decedents tested negative for carbon monoxide, COVID-19 and influenza.

Jarrell said postmortem CT scans and autopsy showed no acute internal or external trauma in either case. "Autopsy examination and full body post mortem CT demonstrated no findings of trauma internally or externally," she said. For Gene Hackman, Jarrell said exams showed severe heart disease, evidence of prior heart attacks and advanced Alzheimer’s disease; testing for hantavirus was negative.

Timeline and evidence
Investigators provided a timeline for Betsy Hackman’s last known activity: she picked up the couple’s dog from Bridal Veterinary Hospital on Feb. 9, exchanged emails with a massage therapist on Feb. 11, and was seen on surveillance at Sprouts Farmers Market between about 3:30 and 4:15 p.m. and at a CVS Pharmacy between 4:12 and 4:20 p.m. on Feb. 11. Investigators said she also visited a pet food store and later used her vehicle remote to enter the gated subdivision at about 5:15 p.m. on Feb. 11; there was no known activity or outgoing communications from her after that date.

Jarrell said pacemaker data from Gene Hackman showed cardiac activity Feb. 17, with interrogation showing atrial fibrillation on Feb. 18; based on that record, "it is reasonable to conclude that Mister Hackman probably died around Feb. 18," she said. Jarrell added that there is no reliable scientific method to accurately determine an exact time or date of death and that those conclusions are based on available evidence.

Environmental and public-health follow-up
Sheriff Mendoza said city fire and gas-company testing found no carbon-monoxide exposure and the gas company reported one minor leak in a single stove burner measuring 0.33% of room air, which investigators described as minute and insignificant. The couple’s dog, Xena, was taken for necropsy at veterinary diagnostic services and the results are pending, officials said.

Dr. Phipps outlined how New Mexico public-health teams respond to hantavirus cases: the Department of Health typically conducts an environmental investigation at cases’ residences to look for signs of rodent entry and to provide guidance aimed at preventing transmission. "We assessed the risk of exposure in the primary residence as low," Phipps said, adding that investigators "did identify signs of rodent entry in other structures on the property" and provided cleaning and exclusion guidance.

Phipps described the clinical course of hantavirus infection: an initial flu-like prodrome lasting roughly three to six days that can progress rapidly to a pulmonary phase with fluid in the lungs, and a potential rapid decline without treatment. She said the Sin Nombre strain in the Southwest carries an estimated mortality of about 38% to 50% and that hantaviruses identified in the United States are not transmissible from person to person.

Public advice and next steps
Phipps gave prevention guidance for people who encounter rodent-infested areas: use gloves and a well-fitting N95 mask, ventilate enclosed spaces for at least 30 minutes, disinfect surfaces with a 10% bleach solution or commercial disinfectant and avoid sweeping or vacuuming droppings because that can aerosolize particles.

Sheriff Mendoza said the investigation is being treated as open while authorities await cell-phone data, the dog necropsy and any additional laboratory results; he also said body-camera footage and other public-record materials will be released as required by law. He said investigators see the autopsy and timeline evidence as answering many of the core questions about the two deaths and that there was no indication of criminal activity at this time.

Questions remained from reporters about whether Gene Hackman, who had advanced Alzheimer’s disease, was aware his wife had died or whether he attempted to seek help; officials said those mental-state questions are difficult to resolve from the available evidence. Dr. Jarrell said there was no microscopic evidence of a very recent heart attack in Gene Hackman but noted that abnormal heart rhythms could have occurred and that the pacemaker record showed atrial fibrillation on Feb. 18.

The multiagency team urged respect for the family’s privacy as the public-health follow-up continues and reiterated guidance for residents and first responders on safe cleanup and rodent-exclusion measures. Officials said the CDC has been notified, consistent with hantavirus being a nationally notifiable condition.