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A judge decides whether the release of records from an investigation into the death of actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, should block at the request of the estate of the couple.
Santa Fe-based Judge Matthew Wilson on Monday scheduled a trial to consider a request from the estate representative Julia Peters to seal the records to protect the family’s constitutional right to privacy.
Among the records considered are photos, videos and documents.
The court placed a temporary hold on the release of the records before the hearing.
The bodies of Hackman and Arakawa were found in their home in Santa Fe on February 26. Maintenance and security workers arrived at home and warned police.
Authorities said Hackman, 95, died about a week after the death of his wife at heart disease to complications of Alzheimer’s disease.
Hackman was possibly unaware of Arakawa (65).
Her cause of death is listed as Hantavirus Long Syndrome, which is a rare, rodent-borne disease.
The Open Records Act of New Mexico blocks public access to sensitive images, including depictions of corpses.
Experts also believe that some medical information is not considered public records under the Public Record Inspection Act.
Peters emphasized the possible shocking nature of photos and videos in the investigation and potential for its distribution by the media in the effort to be released.
The Hackman Family Estate court case also seeks to block the release of autopsy reports by the office of the medical investigator and death investigation reports by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.
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Most of the death investigations by law enforcement and autopsy reports by medical investigators are typically regarded as public records under state law in the spirit of the transparency and accountability of the government.
The authorities unraveled the mysterious circumstances of the couple’s death and described their conclusions at a news conference on March 7 without releasing most related written and photographic records.
One of the three dogs from the couple, a kelpie mixture named Zinna, was found dead in a crate in a bathroom cabinet near Arakawa. Two other dogs survived.
The written request to seal the records has placed the couple a significant value on their privacy and conducted affirmative vigilance steps to protect it during their lives, including after moving to Santa Fe and retiring Hackman.
The state capital is known as a refuge for celebrities, artists and writers.
Arakawa had no children, while Hackman survived through three children from a previous marriage. Privacy is also likely to play a role as the estate of the couple is settled.
According to court documents, Hackman signed an updated will in 2005 about his estate to his wife, while the will she signed in the same year addressed her estate to him. With both dying, the management of the estate is in Peters’ hands.
A request is pending to appoint a trustee to administer assets in two trusts associated with the estate.
Without making trust documents public, it is unclear who the beneficiaries are and how the assets will be divided.
Attorneys specializing in estate planning in New Mexico say it is possible that more details may come out if there were legal disputes over the assets. Even then, they said, the parties will probably ask the court to seal the documents.
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