A representative for the estate of the late actor Gene Hackman filed a legal petition on Tuesday asking the court to prevent the autopsy and investigative records related to the deaths of Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, from becoming public.
Julia Peters, who is representing the estate, asked a state district court in Santa Fe to block the release of autopsy and investigative records—particularly photographs and police body-camera footage—pertaining to the couple’s deaths, citing the need to protect the family’s right to privacy.
The petition further said that the couple had maintained a discreet lifestyle in Santa Fe since Hackman’s retirement from the film industry in the early 2000s, noting that releasing the investigative records would go against their expressed desire for privacy during their lifetime.
It said that Hackman and Arakawa had “lived an exemplary private life for over thirty years in Santa Fe, New Mexico and did not showcase their lifestyle.”
Amanda Lavin, legal director at the nonprofit New Mexico Foundation for Open Government, said New Mexico’s open records law blocks public access to sensitive images. However, Lavin stated that death investigations and autopsy reports are typically considered public records under state law to ensure government transparency and accountability.
Lavin said that prohibiting the release of all investigative records and autopsies could potentially undermine transparency.
“The whole idea of those records being available is to ensure accountability in the way those investigations are done,” Lavin said. “There is also a public health concern given that hantavirus was involved.”
According to a search warrant, Hackman’s body was found near the kitchen area, while the body of Arakawa was found in a bathroom near a space heater.
There was also an opened bottle of prescription medication and pills scattered on a nearby countertop, officials with the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office noted. Authorities also found one of the couple’s dogs dead nearby, according to the search warrant.
Hackman, a two-time Oscar winner, served on the board of trustees for the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum from 1997 to 2004 before withdrawing from public life. His wife, Arakawa, was a classical pianist.
Hackman won his first Academy Award for 1972’s “The French Connection” and, decades later, won his second for his role in “Unforgiven,” released in 1992.
