Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa have been laid to rest in a private funeral after their shock deaths earlier this year. Gene and Betsy were both found dead in their New Mexico home, alongside one of their dogs, and the causes of their passing remained a mystery for weeks. Eventually it was confirmed Betsy died from rare hantavirus a week before her Hollywood star husband died, while Gene succumbed to heart issues while also battling late-stage Alzheimer’s.

Now their bodies have been laid to rest in a private memorial service attended by family and close friends. The service was attended by the couple’s three children – Christopher, Elizabeth and Leslie – and took place in Santa Fe. No further details were released.

The couple’s bodies weren’t found for around two weeks, but despite that Gene’s daughter Leslie insisted she and her father were “close”. She told MailOnline: “I hadn’t talked to them for a couple months, but everything was normal and everything was good.”

Hackman’s surviving dogs, Nikita and Bear, have been rehomed separately following the tragedy, with their late dog Zinna being cremated and buried with Betsy on Elizabeth’s request. She did, however, ask to keep the pup’s collar.

The funeral comes after a heartbreaking problem forced the family to change plan. The family had originally planned for Betsy to handle Gene’s funeral – before she sadly died a week before him. Gene’s nephew Tim explained: “The preparedness of it was that he would go first and that we would probably, maybe, depending on whatever it was [Betsy] had set up, would go down there and pay our condolences and everything.

“Now with this, it significantly changes things. I have no idea what - I'm assuming one of his kids will probably take over - and [plan]. I don't know. It's still very, very early.”

Gene’s will also presented a problem, with him leaving everything to his wife Betsy. Betsy’s will stipulated that if both spouses died within 90 days of each other, their estate would be donated to charity. Notably, Gene’s three children were not named in the document.