A Santa Fe judge has ruled that photos of Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa‘s dead bodies will not be released to the public — for now.
On Monday, the court issued a temporary restraining order against the release of those pictures as well as shots of the interior of the reclusive couple’s New Mexico home, where they died, the Daily Mail reported.
A hearing on the matter has been scheduled for March 31.
Last week, a representative for the estate of the legendary actor and the classical pianist sought to block the public release of autopsy and investigative reports related to their shocking deaths.
Their partially mummified bodies were discovered in different rooms on Feb. 26.
During a press conference on March 7, authorities announced that Hackman died of hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, with “evidence of advanced Alzheimer’s disease” being a significant contributory factor. He was 95.
His pacemaker last showed signs of activity on Feb. 18, indicating an abnormal heart rhythm on the day he likely died.
Meanwhile, officials said Arakawa died as much as a week before after developing hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), a rare, rodent-borne disease. She was 65.
Authorities noted that they identified signs of rodent entry in the couple’s home, which could have led to the hantavirus spreading to Arakawa. Testing for hantavirus was negative for Hackman, who likely didn’t know his wife had died due to his mental state.
Officials claimed Arakawa’s last known communication took place on Feb. 11; however, a primary care physician is now alleging that she “called [his] clinic on Feb. 12.”
“It was for something unrelated to anything respiratory,” Dr. Josiah Child told the Daily Mail Sunday, adding that Arakawa canceled her appointment on Feb. 10 because her “husband was not well.”
However, she allegedly called his office back “on the morning of Feb. 12 and spoke to one of [his] doctors, who told her to come in that afternoon.”
Child claimed, “We made her an appointment, but she never showed up. … We tried calling her a couple of times with no reply.”
The partially mummified body of one of the couple’s dogs was also found in a crate in a bathroom closet near Arakawa’s body. According to the dog’s autopsy report, it likely died of starvation and dehydration.
