Bodies of Gene Hackman, wife cannot be shown as judge orders release of body camera footage
A New Mexico judge ruled Monday that video, audio and photos that fall under New Mexico public records law can be released in connection to the deaths of actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa.
But Judge Matthew Wilson said their bodies cannot be shown; the bodies must be blurred or edited out.
This comes after Hackman's estate petitioned for an injunction to stop the release of certain records.
It's unclear when the remaining body worn camera footage will be released and if it will take any editing by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.
The New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator said it "respects the ruling."
"As of today, the NM OMI has not finalized the post-mortem examination reports of Mr. Eugene Hackman and Mrs. Betsy Hackman," the agency said. "However, once those reports are finalized, the NM OMI will release the reports and will not release photos, as ordered. The NM OMI will release documents to those who have requested them through it’s normal protocol, which is through The University of New Mexico’s public records portal. The NM OMI offers condolences to the Hackman Family."
Officials previously released body camera footage from authorities responding to the Hackmans' home, but not the couple's bodies.
Hackman and Arakawa were mysteriously found dead in their Santa Fe home during a Feb. 26 welfare check with authorities unclear about their causes of death.
It was later announced Hackman, 95, died of cardiovascular and Alzheimer's disease likely around Feb. 18, about one week after his wife died from a rare syndrome, hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, on about Feb. 12, officials said.
Hackman's death was from "hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer's disease as a significant contributory factor," Dr. Heather Jarrell, chief medical investigator for the state's Office of the Medical Investigator, announced at a news conference.
"Mr. Hackman showed evidence of advanced Alzheimer's disease," she said. "He was in a very poor state of health. He had significant heart disease, and I think, ultimately, that is what resulted in his death."
Arakawa, 65, died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare disease transmitted through rodent urine, droppings or saliva, officials said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the disease "initially causes flu-like symptoms that can progress to more severe illness where people have trouble breathing."
Those who contract hantavirus after being exposed to rodent excrement often feel ill for roughly three to six days, Jarrell said.
"Then they can transition to that pulmonary phase, where they have fluid in their lungs and around their lungs," she said. "And at that point, a person can die very quickly, within 24 to 48 hours, roughly speaking, without medical treatment."
Hackman was likely home with his deceased wife for one week before he died, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said.
