SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — An examination of the dog found dead along with actor Gene Hackman and his wife in their Santa Fe home shows dehydration and starvation were likely what led to the animal’s demise.
A report obtained by The Associated Press from the Santa Fe County animal control agency details partial mummification and noted that while the severe decomposition could have obscured changes in the organs, there was no evidence of infectious disease, trauma or poisoning that could have resulted in death.
The report noted that the dog's stomach was mostly empty except for small amounts of hair and bile.
The kelpie mix named Zinna was one of the couple’s three dogs. It was found dead in a crate in a bathroom closet near Betsy Arakawa’s body, while two other dogs survived.
Authorities confirmed last week that Hackman died of heart disease with complications from Alzheimer’s disease about a week after a rare, rodent-borne disease — hantavirus pulmonary syndrome — took the life of his wife. Hackman, in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s, apparently was unaware that his wife was dead.
Hackman was found in the home’s entryway, and Arakawa was found in a bathroom. Like the dog, their bodies were decomposing with some mummification, a consequence of body type and climate in Santa Fe’s especially dry air at an elevation of nearly 7,200 feet (2,200 meters).
Zinnia went from being a returned shelter dog to an incredible companion that was always at Arakawa's side, said Joey Padilla, owner of the Santa Fe Tails pet care facility that was involved in the surviving dogs’ care.
A representative for Hackman's estate sought to block the public release of autopsy and investigative reports, earlier this week, especially photographs and police body-camera video, related to the deaths of Hackman and Arakawa.
Hackman’s pacemaker last showed signs of activity on Feb. 18, indicating an abnormal heart rhythm on the day he likely died. The couple's bodies weren't discovered until Feb. 26 when maintenance and security workers showed up at the Santa Fe home and alerted police, leaving a mystery for law enforcement and medical investigators to unravel.
Julia Peters, a representative for the estate of Hackman and Arakawa, urged a state district court in Santa Fe to seal records in the cases to protect the family's right to privacy in grief under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, emphasizing the possibly shocking nature of photographs and video in the investigation and potential for their dissemination by media.
The request, filed Tuesday, also described the couple's discrete lifestyle in Santa Fe since Hackman's retirement. The state capital city is known as a refuge for celebrities, artists and authors.
The couple “lived an exemplary private life for over thirty years in Santa Fe, New Mexico and did not showcase their lifestyle,” the petition said.
New Mexico's open records law blocks public access to sensitive images, including depictions of people who are deceased, said Amanda Lavin, legal director at the nonprofit New Mexico Foundation for Open Government. Some medical information also is not considered public record under the state Inspection of Public Records Act.
At the same time, 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, she said.
“I do think it does infringe on transparency if the court were to prohibit release of all the investigation records, including the autopsies,” Lavin said Thursday. “The whole idea of those records being available is to ensure accountability in the way those investigations are done.”
“There is also a public health concern given that hantavirus was involved,” Lavin said.
She said the preemptive request to prevent the release of government records on constitutional grounds is unusual.
