In Santa Fe, New Mexico, the estate of legendary actor Gene Hackman, who passed away recently, is striving to prevent the public dissemination of sensitive autopsy and investigative materials. This includes photographs and body-camera footage taken by police related to the deaths of Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, whose partially mummified remains were found at their residence in February.
Authorities recently disclosed that Hackman, aged 95, succumbed to heart disease complicated by Alzheimer’s, some time after his 65-year-old wife died due to hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare disease spread by rodents. Evidence from Hackman’s pacemaker showed his heart’s final irregular rhythms on February 18, coinciding with the probable time of his death. Their bodies were discovered on February 26 when maintenance staff and security, failing to get a response, informed the local police, sparking a mystery for investigators.
Representing the estate, Julia Peters has petitioned a Santa Fe state district court, urging them to restrict access to the records to maintain the family’s privacy, guided by the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Peters highlighted the potentially distressing nature of the images and video in the investigational material, along with the possibility of media propagation. The filing, made on Tuesday, alluded to the couple’s reserved way of life in the celebrity-friendly Santa Fe area since Hackman retired.
“For over thirty years, the couple maintained a private lifestyle in Santa Fe, New Mexico, without promoting their daily lives,” the petition states. However, New Mexico’s public records laws limit access to certain sensitive images, such as deceased individuals, explained Amanda Lavin, legal director of the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government. Some medical specifics are also not deemed public under the state’s Inspection of Public Records Act.
Conversely, most investigations of deaths by law enforcement and medical examiner’s reports are classified as public records per state law, fostering government transparency and accountability, said Lavin. “Restricting the release of all investigational reports, including autopsies, would indeed hamper transparency,” Lavin said on Thursday. “These records are intended for public access to ensure the integrity of investigatory processes.”
Lavin also emphasized a public health angle since hantavirus was involved in the case. She noted the unusual nature of using constitutional protections to preemptively block governmental records release.
Hackman, a revered name in Hollywood, had a career studded with accolades, including two Oscars for films like “The French Connection,” “Hoosiers,” and “Superman,” stretching from the 1960s to the early 2000s. His wife, Arakawa, originally from Hawaii, was a trained concert pianist who attended the University of Southern California and met Hackman while working in a California fitness center during the mid-1980s.