Judge blocks release of footage showing Gene Hackman, Betsy Arakawa’s bodies

  • Gene Hackman, Betsy Arakawa found dead at end of February
  • Hackman died as much as a week after Arakawa's death: Authorities
  • Witness said privacy was important to the couple
FILE - Actor Gene Hackman with wife Betsy Arakawa in June 1993. (AP Photo, File)

FILE – Actor Gene Hackman with wife Betsy Arakawa in June 1993. (AP Photo, File)

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(NewsNation) — A New Mexico judge on Monday blocked the release of any records showing the bodies of late actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa.

However, he allowed for their autopsy reports and other investigative records to be released.

The couple’s estate representative Julia Peters had asked that photos, video and documents be sealed to protect the family’s constitutional rights to privacy, The Associated Press reports.

The Hackman family estate’s lawsuit also sought to stop the release of autopsy reports by the Office of the Medical Investigator and death investigation reports by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.

There had been a temporary hold on the release of the records pending the hearing.

Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 65, were found dead in their Santa Fe home on Feb.26 by maintenance workers. One of their dogs, Zinna, also died.

Authorities said Hackman, 95, died of heart disease with complications from Alzheimer’s disease as much as a week after Arakawa’s death from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome.

Kurt Sommer, an attorney for the estate, said during a hearing Monday that Hackman and Arakawa took great pains to stay out of the public light. The right to control the use of their names and likenesses should extend to their estate in death, he argued.

One witness, Susan Madore, the co-CEO of Guttman Associates Public Relations and Marketing who worked with Hackman and Arakawa, called the couple “lovely” and kind. 

Hackman was a little shy and reserved until one got to know him, Madore remembered, while Arakawa had a “really wonderful sense of humor.” 

She testified about how important privacy was to them, and said Hackman regularly denied interviews over the years. The couple “liked their private life in Santa Fe,” Madore said.

Publishing footage of events surrounding his death is something Hackman would have “never agreed” to in his life, Madore said. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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