Expert Shares Heartbreaking Theory About Gene Hackman's Last Moments

An expert has shared a heartbreaking theory about actor Gene Hackman's final moments.

"It's like he was living in a reel," Catherine V Piersol, PhD, an occupational therapist, told BBC of her theories for Hackman's last days.

"I imagine he would be trying to wake her up and not being successful. But then [he] could have been distracted in another room because of one of the dogs or something," she told BBC.

Horrifically, she said it's possible that Hackman would then forget his wife had died and would discover her on the floor deceased all over again. He would then "live through it again," she theorized in the interview.

New Mexico's chief medical examiner Heather Jarrell revealed in an earlier press conference that the beloved actor, 95, died of cardiovascular disease with Alzheimer's as a contributing factor. Authorities said in that press conference that it's possible Hackman did not even realize his wife, Betsy Arakawa, was dead.

She died about a week before the actor, the authorities said, of Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, which can be contracted through exposure to rodent droppings.

Dr. Brendan Kelley, a neurologist, explained to BBC why he believed Hackman did not call someone for help. Authorities said in the news conference that Hackman was discovered deceased in a mud room of the home with his sunglasses and walking cane next to him. His wife was in a different room.

"A person might feel worried or frightened, but at the same time they might not be capable to take the actions that you or I might normally think to do in order to alleviate that worry or concern, such as calling somebody else, or going to speak to a neighbour," Kelley told BBC.