A New Mexico court on Monday blocked the release of police bodycam video and other images that show the bodies of Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, after they died and were discovered by Santa Fe County officials.
Hackman, 95, died from heart disease as much as a week after Arakawa, 65, died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. Their bodies were found Feb. 26 at their Santa Fe home. Hackman’s pacemaker showed it was active until Feb. 18, which were the last signs of life, authorities said.
Hackman also showed advanced Alzheimer’s disease, according to the medical investigator who performed the autopsy on his body, but the couple’s deaths remained a mystery while investigators awaited for the official cause.
The house owned by actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, in Santa Fe, N.M.
(Roberto E. Rosales / Associated Press)
Although the investigation remains open, many of the major questions surrounding the couple’s deaths have been answered, according to Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza. He said the county would comply with requests for the release of records in the death investigation, but Monday a state court temporarily blocked the release of records in the case.
Judge Matthew Wilson in the First Judicial District Court issued a temporary restraining order that prevents the Office of the Medical Investigator at the University of New Mexico and the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office from releasing records under the state law.
Wilson ordered representatives for the medical investigator’s office and Santa Fe County to appear in court March 31 to argue their case in response to the order.
The court blocked the release of photographs and bodycamera videos that contain images of the couple’s bodies. The order also includes the inside of their home.
One of the couple’s dogs was found dead in a closet not too far from Arakawa’s body, according to authorities. The order also blocks the release of any images or videos of any dead animals inside the Hackman home.
The order also extends to any autopsy and death investigation reports.
A representative for Hackman’s estate asked the state court to seal records in the case to protect the family’s right to privacy in grief under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Hackman and Arakawa were reportedly private individuals who maintained a quiet life in Santa Fe. Days before her death, Arakawa was seen on surveillance video running errands around Santa Fe. The seemingly everyday visits to the pharmacy and the market became pieces of the death investigation, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
