Mystery deepens in Gene Hackman, wife Betsy Arakawa's death as family blocks autopsy results

The mystery surrounding Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa's death has deepened as their family filed to block the release of their autopsy results. The Hollywood veteran and the classical pianist were found dead, aged 95 and 65, along with their dog, at their Santa Fe mansion on February 26.

Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa's family blocks release of their autopsy results in a ‘highly unusual’ move

In a “highly unusual” move, the couple's family is seeking to block the release of Hackman and Arakawa's autopsy results, photos and videos of their bodies and the scene of their New Mexico home, a source close to the death investigation told The US Sun.

“Trying to block the autopsy report is very atypical, that is not something I have ever seen before,” the insider said, adding, “New Mexico doesn't have an exemption for autopsy photos, and normally it's not a concern, but when it comes to celebrity deaths, a lot of people will request them.”

The insider further told the outlet, “So it's common where family members of celebrities would use the New Mexico courts to block release of photos specifically.”

“As with the Hackmans, Michael Jackson's family blocked Tito Jackson's autopsy photos, and with the Alec Baldwin shooting of Halyna Hutchins, her family did the same. However, blocking the actual autopsy report, again, is highly unusual,” the source added.

The surprising move comes after the timeline of Arakawa's death was changed following a local doctor's claim that she contacted his office on February 12, a day after the police said she died.

“Mrs. Hackman didn’t die on February 11 because she called my clinic on February 12,” Dr. Josiah Child told the Daily Mail. According to Santa Fe County Medical Examiner Heather Jarrell, Arakawa died of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome.

“Based on the circumstances, it is reasonable to conclude that Ms. Hackman passed away first, with February 11 being the last time that she was known to be alive,” Dr. Jarrell was quoted as saying by the New York Times.

Child went on to say that Arakawa had “called me a couple of weeks before her death to ask about getting an echocardiogram [heart scan] for her husband,” adding that she cancelled her appointment two days before she was due to see the physician.

“She called back on the morning of February 12 and spoke to one of our doctors who told her to come in that afternoon,” the Santa Fe doctor further told Daily Mail.

“We made her an appointment but she never showed up. She did not show any symptoms of respiratory distress. The appointment wasn’t for anything related to hantavirus. We tried calling her a couple of times with no reply,” Child added.