The family of deceased Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins is demanding an apology from Alec Baldwin, after the star’s criminal manslaughter case was dismissed due to withheld evidence from the prosecution.
Gloria Allred, who represented Hutchins’ sister and parents for damages, told media that the father-of-eight “should just have the human decency to say ‘I’m sorry’ in a phone call or Facetime to the parents,” almost four years after she was shot and killed with the prop gun Baldwin was holding on the film’s New Mexico set in October 2021. “This was somebody’s daughter, somebody’s sister,” she added.
The high-profile attorney used her moment to suggest the real victims were being overlooked because they don’t hold celebrity status.
“It’s not all about Alec Baldwin. There are victims in this case. They are not celebrities – they matter.”
She further described the judge’s decision to drop the case as “shocking” and “devastating”, and a “punch in the gut” for Hutchins’ family, yet Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer found misconduct of police and prosecutors over the withholding of evidence from the defence deemed the trial unfair.
“The late discovery of this evidence during trial has impeded the effective use of evidence in such a way that it has impacted the fundamental fairness of the proceedings,” Sommer told the court. “If this conduct does not rise to the level of bad faith it certainly comes so near to bad faith to show signs of scorching.”
She also ruled that the case cannot return to court.
The decision came about after Baldwin’s attorney Alex Spiro told the court that police took possession of the live rounds from set as evidence, but failed to list them in the investigation file or disclose their existence to defence lawyers.
Meanwhile, the scenes inside and outside the court painted a devastating picture for Baldwin, too.
The 66-year-old and his wife Hilaria have remained stoic and steadfast since the involuntary manslaughter trial commenced on Jul. 10. But on Jul. 13, when the case was dismissed, their strong facade crumbled.
The star looked a far cry from the Emmy Award winning personality the world knows him as.
Images showed Baldwin in tears, while others captured an emotional Hilaria embracing her free husband.
Leaving the New Mexico court, the couple once again clicked into strength-mode, walking hand in hand, with shoulders back and heads high.
“There are too many people who have supported me to thank just now,” Baldwin said in a brief Instagram shared on his Instagram page, which also failed to make mention of Hutchins or her loved ones. “To all of you, you will never know how much I appreciate your kindness toward my family,” he added.
The case itself was complex. Baldwin had always claimed he was simply rehearsing a scene on the set of the Western film when the Colt .45 prop gun he was holding discharged, killing mother-of-one Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.
Baldwin also always insisted he did not pull the trigger or know how the gun contained live ammunition. Baldwin’s case dismissal comes after two crew members were deemed responsible for the tragic on-set incident.
Armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, and sentenced to 18 months in prison, while assistant director and safety coordinator David Halls accepted a plea deal of a six-month suspended sentence after admitting he was negligent.
So, what’s next for the actor? As we previously reported, the former Mr Kim Bassinger will join his yoga instructor wife, along with their seven children in a new reality series, The Baldwins.
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