Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa Hackman had two strange interactions with a man months before their death.
According to their hairstylist, Betsy had expressed concerns about being followed by an unknown man on two separate occasions in December.
The footage, obtained by Fox News, includes an interview with their hairstylist, Christopher, who told law enforcement that Betsy had described the man as “frazzled” and was deeply troubled by his presence near their home and elsewhere.
Christopher recounted how Betsy detailed the first incident, which took place after they left their gated community.
“She mentioned to me that there was a man that had parked outside of their gate and followed them,” Christopher told the authorities. “One occasion is when they went to White Rock. They went and had lunch there, and the guy followed them from parked [outside of their gated community], followed them all the way to White Rock.”
Betsy reportedly told Christopher that she was surprised their security team had not noticed the man or intervened. She said she confronted the man, who then presented a folder filled with photographs of Gene Hackman and asked for autographs.
“I said, ‘That’s so weird because Santa Fe’s not a place of paparazzi and stuff,'” Christopher recalled. “She said… she approached him and said, ‘I told him he needed to have more respect.’”
On a separate occasion, the same man reportedly followed them to another location. This time, he approached the couple and offered them a bottle of wine, which they declined.
“I said, ‘Oh my gosh, Betsy, that’s crazy. You should not have approached this person. This makes me nervous,'” Christopher told investigators. “He knew what [they] drove. That’s the scary part.”
Following the couple’s deaths, a legal dispute has emerged over the release of records related to the case. On March 13, a lawyer representing the Hackman estate filed a petition in state District Court in Santa Fe to prevent the medical investigator and the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office from releasing footage and other materials related to their deaths.
Attorney Kurt Sommer, representing the estate, argued that making such images public would be an irreversible invasion of privacy.
“Once the images are released, the bell cannot be unrung,” Sommer wrote in the petition.
He referenced a previous court ruling in the case of Kurt Cobain’s death, where officials refused to release “death-scene” photographs, citing privacy concerns. Sommer emphasized that the Hackmans had always valued their privacy and took active steps to protect it.
“During their lifetime, the Hackmans placed significant value on their privacy and took affirmative, vigilant steps to safeguard their privacy,” he wrote.
Last week, a court granted a temporary restraining order preventing the release of records related to the couple’s deaths. The order bars the Office of the Medical Investigator and the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office from disclosing any photographs, videos, or reports related to their deaths, including images of their bodies, their home’s interior, or deceased animals found at the residence.
Additionally, the order restricts the release of lapel camera footage from responding law enforcement officers and blocks the disclosure of autopsy or death reports. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for March 31.
Officials have confirmed that Betsy Arakawa Hackman died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare but severe respiratory disease. Gene Hackman passed away from hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer’s disease listed as a contributing factor.
The Hackman estate is represented by Julia Peters, a partner and chief counsel for Avalon Trust Co. investment firm.
As the legal battle over the couple’s records continues, questions remain about the identity of the man who allegedly followed them and whether the incidents had any connection to their deaths.