A court has cleared the way for the release of records about the deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa, as long as depictions of the deceased couple are blocked from view.
The ruling from a New Mexico judge allows the possible release of redacted police body camera video and other investigative materials, including images of the couple's dead dog.
An earlier, temporary court order restricted the release of all photos, videos, and documents from the investigation.
"There shall be no depiction of either body in any video production" or photographic image of the bodies, Santa Fe-based Judge Matthew Wilson said in response to questions from lawyers on his ruling.
A representative for the Hackman family estate had urged a New Mexico judge to keep the records sealed to protect the family’s constitutional right to privacy.
The partially mummified remains of Hackman and Ms Arakawa were found in their Santa Fe home on 26 February, when maintenance and security workers showed up at the house and alerted police.
Authorities have said Hackman, 95, died of heart disease with complications from Alzheimer’s disease about a week after his wife died of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, which is a rare, rodent-borne disease.
Hackman may have been unaware Ms Arakawa, 65, was dead.
One of the couple’s three dogs, a kelpie mix named Zinna, was also found dead in a crate in a bathroom closet near Ms Arakawa, while two other dogs were found alive.
A state veterinary lab tied the dog’s death to dehydration and starvation.
Authorities unravelled the mysterious circumstances of the couple’s deaths and described their conclusions at a 7 March news conference without releasing most related written and photographic records.
New Mexico’s open records law blocks public access to sensitive images, including depictions of dead bodies.
Experts also say some medical information is not considered public record under the state Inspection of Public Records Act.
In seeking to block the release of records, estate representative Julia Peters had emphasised the possibly shocking nature of photographs and video in the investigation and the potential for their dissemination by media.
The Hackman family estate also sought to block the eventual release of autopsy reports by the Office of the Medical Investigator and death investigation reports by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.
A lawyer for the estate, Kurt Sommer, argued during Monday’s hearing that the couple took great pains to stay out of the public light during their lifetimes and that the right to control the use of their names and likenesses should extend to their estate in death.
The bulk of death investigations by law enforcement and autopsy reports by medical investigators are typically considered public records under state law in the spirit of ensuring government transparency and accountability.
The Associated Press, CBS News and CBS Studios intervened in the matter.
Gregory P Williams, a lawyer for the news outlets, told the judge that they had previously said in court filings that they would not disseminate images of the couple’s bodies and would blur images to obscure them from other records.
"There is certainly a public interest in knowing how their deaths were investigated and knowing how that was handled," Mr Williams said.
Susan Madore, a publicist who had worked with the Hackman family for years, testified that the couple relished living in Santa Fe because it afforded them anonymity.
Hackman retired in the early 2000s.
Ms Arakawa had no children, while Hackman is survived by three children from a previous marriage.
At Monday’s hearing, a lawyer for Hackman’s son and daughters highlighted the possible traumatic effects of releasing conversations about the deaths within police body camera videos.
Scot Sauder, a lawyer for the state medical investigator, told the judge that autopsy reports for Hackman and his wife do not yet exist and will not include past healthcare information once completed.
It can take months for autopsy reports to be completed.
Privacy will also likely play a role as the couple’s estate is settled. According to probate court documents, Hackman signed an updated will in 2005, leaving his estate to his wife, while the will she signed that year directed her estate to him. With both dying, management of the estate is in Ms Peters’ hands.
Without trust documents being made public, it is unclear who the beneficiaries are and how the assets will be divided.
Source: Press Association
