Colleague shot dead – turning point in Baldwin’s case
Updated on 04/21/2023 – 10:01 amReading time: 2 min.
Fatal Accident: Aerial footage shows the location where Alec Baldwin accidentally shot and killed a camerawoman. (What: t-online)
Alec Baldwin’s case is dropped. The US actor had fired a deadly shot at a camerawoman while filming.
The ongoing criminal case against actor Alec Baldwin (65) after a fatal shot while shooting a film is dropped. This was announced by the special investigators employed by the public prosecutor in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Thursday afternoon (local time). The involuntary manslaughter charge brought in January will be dropped, but the investigation into the case will continue, the statement said.
Accordingly, new facts have become known in the past few days that require further investigations and forensic analyzes. Baldwin could be prosecuted again at a later date, it said.
Baldwin accidentally shot and killed 42-year-old cinematographer Halyna Hutchins with a revolver during a rehearsal for low-budget western Rust in October 2021. The Colt .45 had been loaded with a real bullet. How this could happen is still unclear. Baldwin was subsequently charged with involuntary manslaughter. If convicted, he could have faced up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine.
The production company Rust Movie Productions only announced on Tuesday that filming should resume later in the week. The “Rust” producers had already announced in February that shooting for the low-budget western would continue in the spring. Hutchins’ widower Matthew Hutchins will be involved as a producer. That was part of an out-of-court settlement last February, in exchange for which Matthew Hutchins withdrew his civil suit.
Alec Baldwin reacts to turn
Baldwin, known for films such as ‘The Hunt for Red October’ and ‘The Temptation of Blondes’ and the series ’30 Rock’, has denied any responsibility for Hutchins’ death. He claims he had no way of knowing there was live ammunition in the Colt. The US actor, who is one of the producers of “Rust”, had previously been presented with the weapon with the words that it was “cold” – i.e. not loaded with live ammunition.
Soon after his attorneys spoke out on Thursday, Baldwin also addressed the public. On Instagram, the actor responded to the turnaround in the case with a post. He shared a photo showing him with his wife Hilaria.
The snapshot appears to have been taken in a restaurant. The 65-year-old has his arms around his wife and his head is leaning on her shoulder. With his eyes closed, he is smiling as she looks at the camera. “Everything I have I owe to this woman,” Baldwin writes, adding in parentheses, “And you, Luke.” This probably means his lawyer Luke Nikas. He had described the involuntary manslaughter charge as a miscarriage of justice, always emphasizing: “Mr. Baldwin had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun or anywhere on the film set.”
Hilaria Baldwin had also stood behind her husband for the past year and a half and repeatedly defended him publicly. The two have been married since 2012 and have seven children together.
