Two weeks before he was set to stand trial for the supposedly accidental death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, all of the criminal charges filed against Rust star Alec Baldwin have reportedly been dropped. With the appointment of two new special prosecutors to the case, the manslaughter charges against Baldwin have reportedly been dismissed, or very soon will be, but that doesn’t mean the case is over yet.
In a years-long case that began on the set of Rust in October 2021, Alec Baldwin was charged with involuntary manslaughter after a prop gun the actor had been holding misfired, causing live rounds to hit and kill cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, 42. Rust‘s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, was also charged with involuntary manslaughter, and the pair plead not guilty in February of this year, over a year after Hutchins was killed. Even while being faced with an 18-month prison sentence and an incriminating FBI report, Alec Baldwin has maintained that he was not responsible for the death of Halyna Hutchins, and the newest developments in his case could stand to prove him right.
‘Rust’ Case Gets New Prosecutors, Charges Dropped Ahead of Mini-Trial
In a sudden twist, Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies stepped down from the high-profile cast last month, leading to her being replaced by prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis just weeks before Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed were supposed to appear in a “mini-trial,” where Judge Mary Marlow Sommer would determine whether the case had enough evidence to proceed to a full-blown trial. In one of their first acts related to the case, Morrissey and Lewis filed to have the manslaughter charges leveled against Baldwin dropped without prejudice, but interestingly only for Baldwin. According to ABC News, the charges against ex-armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed have remained in place, which definitely leaves the case open for further investigation. However, it is unlikely that the mini-trial will occur.
The Santa Fe District Attorney’s office has declined to comment on the charges against Alec Baldwin being dropped. However, Baldwin’s own attorneys, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, have released a statement saying they’re “pleased” with the decision and “encourage a proper investigation into the facts and circumstances of this tragic accident.”
The motion to drop the charges against Baldwin comes just as filming for Rust was set to begin again on a resurrected set in New Mexico with Baldwin present, along with director Joel Souza, who was injured in the same incident that killed Halyna Hutchins. Halyna’s husband and widower, Matthew Hutchins, was also supposed to be on set, having been made an executive producer on the project as a settlement for the October 2022 lawsuit the Hutchins family brought against Alec Baldwin, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, and a few other Rust crew members. Filming was originally meant to begin earlier this week but has been rescheduled to tomorrow, April 21st, according to Deadline, though it’s unclear how this latest development will affect that schedule.