The estate of Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy have requested a ban on the presumably grisly photos taken of their bodies – and a New Mexico court has made a decision
The estate of Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa have secured a win in court.
The Hollywood legend, 95, was found dead at his Santa Fe home in New Mexico on February 26, along with Betsy, 65, and one of their dogs. Their bodies were decomposed and partially mummified, in separate rooms of their property.
Authorities said Hackman died of coronary artery disease, with advanced Alzheimer’s disease listed as a contributing factor. They believe he likely died on February 18, around seven days after Arakawa, who died from Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, a rare virus caused by exposure to infected rats.
A New Mexico court has now ruled that photos of the couple’s bodies will be blocked from public view. The actor’s estate had requested a restraining order on the release of such images and other materials relating to the probe into their deaths.
The First Judicial Court in Santa Fe County has sided with the estate and on Monday (March 17) ordered that the presumably grisly photos would not be released to the public for the time being. The temporary restraining order was submitted by Julia Peters, acting on behalf of Hackman’s estate, and it is intended to protect the family’s right to privacy in grief under the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution.
The bodies of Gene and Betsy were discovered at their $3.3m (£2.61m) Santa Fe home on February 26 by a maintenance worker who had arrived to do some work on the property. The worker made a panicked call to 911 after spotting the actor and his wife through a window of the property – they were unresponsive and lying on the ground.
Betsy was found lying on the bathroom floor of the mansion, next to a portable heater. Cops said she was “found decomposed with bloating on her face and mummification in her hands and feet”.
Double Oscar winner Gene was in a room near to the kitchen, displayed the same signs of decomposition as his wife. The search warrant said: “The male decedent also showed obvious signs of death, similar and consistent with the female decedent”.
Their dog Zinna was also found dead in a closet near to Betsy’s body, but the other two dogs – Nikita and Bear – were found alive roaming the property. Both dogs have now been safely rescued but it’s unclear what will happen to them next.
It’s been reported that Hackman’s property was in “a state of disarray” before his passing. A source told MailOnline: “The inside of the house was shocking. They didn’t have a housekeeper or a maid, so it had beautiful things – furniture and paintings – but there was dog poop on the floor. The inside of the house was bad. Nothing had been dusted. There was nothing in the fridge.”
Gene and Betsy didn’t have any kids together, but Gene was already a dad to son Christopher Allen, 65, and daughters Leslie Anne, 58, and Elizabeth Jean, 62, from an earlier relationship. After the couple passed away, Leslie sang praises for Betsy, crediting her with “keeping him alive” and highlighting their “wonderful marriage”.
The man who came across their bodies at the property has now claimed he “knew something was wrong” with the couple. Jesse Kesler told Fox he was “concerned” and had tried to arrange a wellness check on the couple before discovering the bodies.
Kesler, who had worked for Hackman and Arakawa for 16 years, claimed he visited the house as he hadn’t heard from Betsy in two weeks. The maintenance worker said he used to speak to her “every three days”.
“We were getting pretty worried,” he said. “We knew something was wrong.”
“We asked law enforcement for advice on how to do it,” Kesler said. “We started the process of a wellness check. We had to involve a family member to do a wellness check. They had to have an authorization from a family member.”
The worker said they were unable to get hold of any members of Hackman’s family, so he decided to go into the house of his own accord. “And finally, finally, I saw the security guard, and that’s when me and him went in,” he added.
He has also shared his regret at not going into the property sooner. Kesler told the Daily Mail that, had he done so, he “might have been able to save Gene or the dog.”
Hackman’s daughter Leslie told Fox News that she had never had any contact with Kesler before and that she was unaware anybody was pursuing a wellness check. She said “No one had reached out,” adding that authorities did not speak to her about her father’s wellbeing until “the discovery”.
Santa Fe police also said they were not contacted about Hackman until the 911 call on February 26, when the bodies were found. Betsy was found dead on a bathroom floor near to a portable heater, while Gene was found in a room near to the kitchen.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
