When did Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa die? Phone records lead to an updated timeline.

The deaths of Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa are still a puzzle.

The two-time Oscar winner and his classical pianist wife were found dead along with their dog Zinfandel, or “Zinna,” in their Santa Fe, N.M., home on Feb. 26. But exactly when they died — and who died first — has been a mystery that the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office is trying to solve.

At a March 7 press conference at which they announced the causes of death for the pair, authorities said that while the investigation was ongoing, they suspected that Arakawa, 65, died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare illness transmitted through rodents, on Feb. 11 and the 95-year-old Hackman died from advanced heart disease with Alzheimer’s disease as a contributing factor on Feb. 18. That information was based on Arakawa’s last electric communication and Hackman’s pacemaker data — though authorities had yet to access their phone records.

Since then, the sheriff’s department acknowledged on March 17 that Arakawa called a medical clinic on Feb. 12, moving her date of death forward.

“We can now confirm that Mrs. Hackman’s phone was utilized on the morning of February 12 to call a medical center in Santa Fe,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement. “This information was learned through investigation into the cell phone data contained on her phone.”

Exactly when Hackman and Arakawa died could play a role in where his reported $80 million fortune goes. Here is the up-to-date timeline — and how it could impact the estate. Also, the latest on the estate’s efforts to block investigation photos from being released, and what we know about the surviving dogs being rehomed.

Feb. 26: The bodies of Arakawa and Hackman were found at their home, within the Santa Fe Summit gated community, after maintenance workers alerted security guards. Arakawa’s body, which showed signs of mummification, was found on a bathroom floor near the entry of the home near the deceased dog, Zinna, who was in a crate. The two surviving dogs, Bear and Nikita, who were able to go in and out of the house through an open door, led investigators to Hackman’s body, which was in the mudroom.

A contractor/handyman for the couple, Jesse Kesler, told the Daily Mail he and the security guard didn’t just stumble upon the bodies. He had tried to contact the couple and became worried when he didn’t get a reply. The security guard accompanied him to the home, where they found Arakawa on the floor.

Feb. 18: It’s presumed that Hackman, who was alone for days after his wife’s death, died on this day. It’s the last day his pacemaker registered cardiac activity. He was found on the floor with his cane and sunglasses by his side. The medical examiner said he was hydrated but had no food in his stomach.

Feb. 12: It’s now presumed Arakawa died on this day. That morning, she made three calls to Cloudberry Health, a Santa Fe medical concierge service, Sheriff Adan Mendoza told ABC News. Cloudberry founder Dr. Josiah Child told the Daily Mail that Arakawa, who would have been a first-time patient, reached out “a couple of weeks before her death” to ask about an echocardiogram for Hackman. She ended up making an appointment for herself — “unrelated to anything respiratory” — for Feb. 12. Two days before the appointment, she called to cancel, saying her husband wasn’t well.

Child told ABC News that Arakawa then called on Feb. 12 seeking information about hyperbaric therapy, which involves breathing pure oxygen in a pressurized chamber. There was no indication she was having breathing issues, a symptom of hantavirus, or was in distress, but she did say she was “feeling congested,” Child said. After she spoke to one of the doctors, she scheduled an appointment for 1:15 p.m. that day but didn’t arrive. The office called her but never reached her.

Feb. 11: Arakawa was last seen in public while out running errands locally. She went to a Sprouts Farmer Market grocery store between 3:30 and 4:15 p.m., then a CVS Pharmacy. She used a remote to open the main gate of her gated community at approximately 5:15 p.m. Dr. Heather Jarrell, chief medical investigator for the state’s Office of the Medical Investigator, said a person with hantavirus, which is extremely rare, typically feels sick for three to six days.

Arakawa did not go to Gruda Veterinary Hospital to pick up the prescription dog food and medication she had ordered for one of the dogs, which she was supposed to do.

Feb. 9: Arakawa picked up Zinna from a veterinary hospital after a procedure. Mendoza said that’s likely why the dog was crated. The New Mexico Department of Agriculture’s Veterinary Diagnostic Services determined during a necropsy that the dog likely died of starvation and dehydration because it was restricted to that space. There was no evidence of infection, trauma or poisoning. The dog’s stomach was “mostly empty except for very small amounts of hair and bile.”

The contractor said this was the last day he spoke with Arakawa.

Who died first factors into settling their estates

Hackman and Arawaka’s wills, written in 2005, were filed on March 6. Hackman left his estate to his wife, as the successor trustee of the Gene Hackman Living Trust. He did not directly name his three adult children in the will, which doesn’t mean they are disinherited. Court filings did name them as heirs.

Arakawa’s will stipulated that if Hackman died before her, her estate should be put into a charitable trust benefiting charities the couple supported. However, there was a provision that stated that if she and Hackman died within 90 days of each other, “no person will be deemed to have survived me.”

Also complicating matters is that if Arakawa died first, which is thought to be the case, Hackman’s will becomes void “because the individual he wanted his items to be passed to no longer exists in the eyes of the law,” ABC News legal contributor Brian Buckmire said. “His estate and everything he left in his will would go to probate court, where individuals can argue that they should receive the benefits of Gene Hackman’s will.”

Another development is that on March 17, a New Mexico district judge temporarily blocked the release of sensitive imagery, including bodycam footage, of the couple’s bodies, the interior of their home and any dead animals on the property from the investigation reports. That includes bodycam footage from deputies and autopsy photos. A representative for the estate had filed the request. A hearing is scheduled on the matter for March 31.

There is also an update on what happened to the two surviving dogs. Joey Padilla, the owner of dog day care center Santa Fe Tails, said that they have been separated and sent to new homes. One of the dogs remains locally in Santa Fe, while the other now resides out of state.

“Both are safe, healthy, and adjusting to their new environments,” a personal representative for the estates told People.