Mystery has swirled over the death of Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa ever since their partially mummified remains were discovered at their Santa Fe home earlier this year.
Speculation persisted even after it was ruled that the actor, 95, died from heart disease and Alzheimer’s complications about a week after Arakawa, 65, succumbed to the rare hantavirus, a disease spread by rats.
The New Mexico Department of Public Health has since concluded that there were numerous rat nests at the home.
Harrowing photos from inside the property have revealed the extent of the squalor the Oscar winning actor and his artist wife were living in prior to their deaths.
But they have also have prompted questions over how nobody spotted the signs about the elderly couple’s decline.
The Hackman estate had sought to keep all pictures and documents linked to the investigations into the deaths private and following their release, it is easy to see why.
The images show the couple’s $4 million mansion in total disarray, piled high with clutter and garbage.
The vanity in the bathroom where Arakawa’s body was discovered can be