Renowned actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were discovered deceased at their New Mexico home in February of this year, their bodies partially mummified. The Hackman estate is seeking to prevent the public release of autopsy and investigation reports related to the case, especially photographs and video footage from police body cameras.
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03-17, 2025Last week, officials announced Hackman's cause of death at age 95 as heart disease, with complications from Alzheimer's disease. His 65-year-old wife, on the other hand, died from a rare rodent-borne illness, hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, and her death likely preceded Hackman's by a week.
Hackman's pacemaker last showed signs of activity on February 18, suggesting he may have died on that day. The couple's bodies were not discovered until February 26, when maintenance and security personnel visited their Santa Fe home and alerted the police, leaving law enforcement and medical investigators with a mystery to unravel.
Julia Peters, the personal representative for the Hackman and Arakawa estates, has urged the Santa Fe State District Court to seal the records in the case to protect the family's right to privacy during their grief, which is protected by the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. She emphasized the potentially shocking nature of the photographs and videos from the investigation, as well as the potential for their dissemination by the media. The request was filed on Tuesday (U.S. time).
The request also described the couple's low-profile lifestyle in Santa Fe since Hackman's retirement. The state capital of Santa Fe is known for its discretion, serving as a haven for numerous celebrities, artists, and writers. "The couple lived a model private life in Santa Fe, New Mexico, for more than three decades, without ostentation," the petition states.
Amanda Lavin, legal director of the nonprofit New Mexico Foundation for Open Government, stated that New Mexico's open records law prohibits public access to sensitive images, including photographs of deceased individuals. Certain medical information is also not considered a public record under the state's Inspection of Public Records Act.
At the same time, under state law, most death investigations by law enforcement and autopsy reports by medical investigators are generally considered public records, reflecting the spirit of ensuring government transparency and accountability. Ms. Lavin stated, "If the court prohibits the release of all investigative records, including the autopsy report, I think that does impinge on transparency."
She added, "The whole point of making these records available is to ensure accountability in the investigative process. Considering the involvement of hantavirus, this also involves a public health issue." She also stated that such a request to preemptively block the release of government records based on constitutional grounds is unusual.
Gene Hackman was an iconic figure in Hollywood, having won two Academy Awards during his illustrious career, starring in films such as "The French Connection," "Hoosiers," and "Superman," from the 1960s until his retirement in the early 2000s.
Arakawa, born in Hawaii, trained to be a concert pianist, attended the University of Southern California, and met Hackman in the mid-1980s while working at a gym in California.
