Judge blocks release of public records that show the bodies of Gene Hackman, wife

SANTA FE, N.M. — A court on Monday blocked the release of any public records that show the bodies of Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, but said other images and documents can be disclosed.

A representative for the Hackman family estate had urged a New Mexico judge to seal photos, video and documents to protect the family’s privacy. Santa Fe-based Judge Matthew Wilson had court put a temporary hold on the release of records pending Monday’s hearing.

Wilson said anything that does not include images of the couples’ bodies could be released.

The partially mummified remains of Hackman and Arakawa were found in their Santa Fe home on Feb. 26, when maintenance and security workers showed up at the home and alerted police. Authorities have confirmed Hackman, 95, died of heart disease with complications from Alzheimer’s disease about a week after his wife’s death. Hackman may have been unaware Arakawa, 65, was dead.

Her cause of death was listed as hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, which is a rare, rodent-borne disease.

New Mexico’s open records law blocks public access to sensitive images, including depictions of dead bodies. Experts also say some medical information is not considered public record under the state Inspection of Public Records Act.

Estate representative Julia Peters has emphasized the possibly shocking nature of photographs and video in the investigation and potential for their dissemination by media in the bid to block them from being released. The Hackman family estate also sought to block the release of autopsy reports by the Office of the Medical Investigator and death investigation reports by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.

An attorney for the estate, Kurt Sommer, argued during Monday’s hearing that the couple took great pains to stay out of the public light during their lifetimes and that the right to control the use of their names and likenesses should extend to their estate in death.

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.

At the start of Monday’s hearing, Wilson granted a request from media outlets including The Associated Press to intervene.

Authorities unraveled the mysterious circumstances of the couple’s deaths and described their conclusions at a March 7 news conference without releasing most related written and photographic records.

One of the couple’s three dogs, a kelpie mix named Zinna, also was found dead in a crate in a bathroom closet near Arakawa. Two other dogs were found alive.

Susan Madore, a publicist who had worked with the Hackmans for years, testified that the couple relished living in Santa Fe because it afforded them anonymity. Hackman retired in the early 2000s.

Arakawa had no children, while Hackman is survived by three children from a previous marriage. Privacy likely also will play a role as the couple’s estate is settled. According to probate court documents, Hackman signed an updated will in 2005 leaving his estate to his wife while the will she signed that year directed her estate to him. With both dying, management of the estate is in Peters’ hands.

A request is pending to appoint a trustee to administer assets in two trusts associated with the estate. Without trust documents being made public, it’s unclear who the beneficiaries are and how the assets will be divided.

Attorneys who specialize in estate planning in New Mexico say it’s possible more details could come out if there were any legal disputes over the assets. Even then, they said, the parties likely would ask the court to seal the documents.