Gene Hackman's estate asks court to block release of death investigation
records
[March 14, 2025]
By MORGAN LEE
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A representative for the estate of actor Gene
Hackman is seeking to block the public release of autopsy and
investigative reports, especially photographs and police body-camera
video, related to the recent deaths of Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa
after their partially mummified bodies were discovered at their New
Mexico home in February.
Authorities last week announced Hackman died at age 95 of heart disease
with complications from Alzheimer’s disease as much as a week after a
rare, rodent-borne disease — hantavirus pulmonary syndrome — took the
life of his 65-year-old wife.
Hackman’s pacemaker last showed signs of activity on Feb. 18, indicating
an abnormal heart rhythm on the day he likely died. The couple's bodies
weren't discovered until Feb. 26 when maintenance and security workers
showed up at the Santa Fe home and alerted police, leaving a mystery for
law enforcement and medical investigators to unravel.
Julia Peters, a representative for the estate of Hackman and Arakawa,
urged a state district court in Santa Fe to seal records in the cases to
protect the family's right to privacy in grief under the 14th Amendment
to the U.S. Constitution, emphasizing the possibly shocking nature of
photographs and video in the investigation and potential for their
dissemination by media.
The request, filed Tuesday, also described the couple's discrete
lifestyle in Santa Fe since Hackman's retirement. The state capital city
is known as a refuge for celebrities, artists and authors.
The couple "lived an exemplary private life for over thirty years in
Santa Fe, New Mexico and did not showcase their lifestyle,” the petition
said.
New Mexico's open records law blocks public access to sensitive images,
including depictions of people who are deceased, said Amanda Lavin,
legal director at the nonprofit New Mexico Foundation for Open
Government. Some medical information also is not considered public
record under the state Inspection of Public Records Act.
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Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza, center, answers questions
about the investigation into the deaths of actor Gene Hackman and
his wife Betsy Arakawa during a news conference in Santa Fe, New
Mexico, on Friday, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan)
 At the same time, the bulk of death
investigations by law enforcement and autopsy reports by medical
investigators are typically considered public records under state
law in the spirit of ensuring government transparency and
accountability, she said.
“I do think it does infringe on transparency if the court were to
prohibit release of all the investigation records, including the
autopsies,” Lavin said Thursday. “The whole idea of those records
being available is to ensure accountability in the way those
investigations are done.”
“There is also a public health concern given that hantavirus was
involved,” Lavin said.
She said the preemptive request to prevent the release of government
records on constitutional grounds is unusual.
Hackman, a Hollywood icon, won two Oscars during a storied career in
films including “The French Connection,” “Hoosiers” and “Superman”
from the 1960s until his retirement in the early 2000s.
Arakawa, born in Hawaii, studied as a concert pianist, attended the
University of Southern California and met Hackman in the mid-1980s
while working at a California gym.
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