Authorities have discovered new information changing the timeline of when they believe Academy Award winning actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, died. The couple were found dead in their New Mexico home last month with officials saying the pair had been dead for some time before they were discovered by neighbourhood security.

Although Betsy Arakawa reportedly died of hantavirus, a doctor from the health service she called said her appointment was "unrelated to anything respiratory."

State medical investigators estimated Arakawa died on Feb. 11, but she appeared to have contacted the clinic the next day, a sheriff's official said.