Hackman's Estate Doesn't Want Investigation Records Released

Highlighting the "exemplary private life" they lived for more than three decades in Santa Fe, known as a haven for celebrities, a representative for the estate of actor Gene Hackman is seeking to prevent the public release of autopsy and investigation records related to his and his wife Betsy Arakawa's deaths. This includes photographs and body-camera footage, which the rep requested be sealed to protect the family's privacy under the 14th Amendment, the AP reports. The lawyer who filed the petition notes that "the bell cannot be unrung" once images are released, Fox News reports.

Hackman's cause of death at age 95 has been attributed to heart disease and complications from Alzheimer's; he is believed to have died as long as a week after Arakawa, 65, succumbed to hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare ailment typically transmitted via rodent droppings, urine, or saliva. Hackman's pacemaker last showed activity on February 18, but the couple's bodies weren't found in the New Mexico home until February 26. A legal director at the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government argues that some of the records should be released for transparency purposes. "There is also a public health concern given that hantavirus was involved," she says. (This content was created with the help of AI. Read our AI policy.)