A representative for the estate of actor Gene Hackman is seeking to prevent the public release of autopsy and investigation results surrounding the recent death of the actor and his wife, Betsy Arakawa.
The petition was launched primarily to stop the release of police body camera photos and videos after the couple's partially mummified bodies were found in their New Mexico home last month.
Last week, authorities said Hackman died at age 95 from heart disease with complications from Alzheimer's disease, just a week after a rare rodent disease called hantavirus pulmonary syndrome claimed the life of his 65-year-old wife.
Hackman's pacemaker last showed activity on February 18, indicating an abnormal heart rhythm on the day of his presumed death.
The couple's bodies were not discovered until February 26, when maintenance and security personnel came to the Santa Fe home and called police, leaving the mystery to be investigated by law enforcement and forensic experts.
Julia Peters, representing the heirs of Hackman and Arakawa, asked the state District Court in Santa Fe to seal the case records to protect the family's right to privacy in their grief under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, citing the potentially shocking nature of the photographs and videos used in the investigation and the potential for them to be disseminated by the media.
The filing Tuesday also cited the couple's modest lifestyle in Santa Fe after Hackman's retirement.
The state capital is famous for being home to celebrities, artists and writers.
The petition claims the couple “lived an exemplary private life in Santa Fe, New Mexico, for over thirty years and did not put their lifestyle on display.”
New Mexico's public records law limits access to sensitive images, including photos of people who have died, said Amanda Lavin, legal director of the nonprofit New Mexico Foundation for Open Government. Some medical data also doesn't qualify as a public record under the state's Inspection of Public Records Act.
However, she added, the underlying findings of death investigations conducted by law enforcement and autopsy reports performed by medical investigators are generally considered public records under state law to ensure government transparency and accountability.
“I do believe that the court's decision to ban the publication of all investigative materials, including the autopsy results, violates the principle of transparency,” Ms. Lavin said on Thursday.
“The point of providing these records is to ensure accountability during investigations.
“There are also public health concerns given that hantavirus is involved.”
She noted that a preliminary request to keep government documents confidential for constitutional reasons is rare.
Hackman, a Hollywood icon, won two Oscars during his illustrious career for films including The French Connection, Hoosiers and Superman, acting from the 1960s until his retirement in the early 2000s.
Arakawa, who was born in Hawaii, trained as a concert pianist, attended the University of Southern California, and met Hackman in the mid-1980s while working at a gym in California.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
