In The Rust Case, Alec Baldwin Could Be Charged Again As A Report Finds That The Trigger Was Pulled:
Alec Baldwin could be charged with killing again after a forensic report published Tuesday showed that his Colt.45 handgun would only explode if the trigger was pulled.
Baldwin was first charged with manslaughter because of the death of photographer Halyna Hutchins in October 2021.
But the charge was dismissed after the defense pointed out that the weapon had been changed, which made it hard to know if it worked properly when the shooting happened.
The Forensic Report Suggests That The Prop Colt 45 Revolver Trigger Was Pressed Enough To Cause The Accident:
A forensic report that was gotten on Tuesday said that the fake Colt.45 handgun, which turned out to have real bullets in it, must have had its trigger pulled “sufficiently” to cause the accident.
Baldwin has said that he did not pull the gun. Hutchins, who was 42 years old, was killed when a live bullet hit him on the set of the movie “Rust” nearby Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Kari Morrissey as well as Jason Lewis, who are in charge of the case, asked for a new forensic study of the gun and are waiting for the results before choosing whether or not to re-file the charges.
The Experts Put The Gun Back Together After The FBI Had Broken It During Testing:
Lucien as well as Michael Haag gave them the report earlier this month, and it was made public Tuesday in a court filing. The gun had been broken when the FBI tested it before. The experts put it back together and found that it could just have been shot by pulling the trigger.
“This fatal accident happened because the hammer was manually pulled back all the way and cocked, and then at some point the trigger was pulled or pushed back,” the report said.
“Even though Alec Baldwin has said over and over that he didn’t pull the trigger, the tests, results, as well as observations reported here show that the trigger had to be pushed or pressed enough to release the evidence revolver’s fully cocked as well as retracted hammer.”
If It Turns Out That The Gun Didn’t Break, Charges Will Be Brought Against Mr. Baldwin:
Before, the officials said that Baldwin could be charged once again if the weapon worked right. “If it turns out that the gun didn’t break, charges will be brought against Mr. Baldwin,” they wrote within a filing in June.
The charges were dropped without prejudice within April, yet prosecutors Kari Morrissey as well as Jason Lewis said in a court filing on June 9 that Baldwin could still be charged if the gun is still being looked into.
The Gun Was Sent To An Independent Expert Hired By The State For More Tests:
“The broken bolt and gun were sent to the state’s neutral expert to be looked at more closely. Alec Baldwin’s charges were dropped without prejudice because the possibility of gun failure had a big effect on causation in Baldwin’s case but not in Gutierrez’s.
If it turns out that the gun didn’t break, charges will be brought against Mr. Baldwin,” they wrote at the time. They also said they were expected to make an announcement on whether or not to charge Baldwin throughout the next 60 days.
Baldwin hasn’t been charged again, though, and it’s still not clear if he will be. In an email sent Thursday afternoon, Morrissey said that the choice would be made public. She wrote, “I expect the choice to be made soon.”
The Film’s Armorer, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, Is Going To Court In December:
Hannah Gutierrez Reed, who worked as the film’s armorer, is being tried in December for killing and fiddling with evidence. Through her lawyers, she has said that Seth Kenney, a guns dealer, was the one who mixed real bullets into a lot of fake ones.
On the set, there was also the deadly round and five other live shots. The forensic experts also had to try to figure out where the live rounds came from.
But, according to the story, all they could say was that the rounds were different from other rounds that were taken from Kenney weeks after the killing.
On Set, There Were Four Kinds Of Dummy Rounds:
The story also said that there were 4 different kinds of fake rounds on set. Some shook when they were moved, which showed that they couldn’t be shot.
Others were missing a starter or had a hole within the side. The study found that the actual rounds could be told apart from these types of dummies by shaking them or simply noticing that there was no hole in them.
Within the case in opposition to Gutierrez-Reed, the prosecution’s new report has pictures of Baldwin carrying the weapon while in costume and practicing before the event.
The Report Said That When The Gun Was Put Back Together, It Turned Out To Work Properly:
The report said that when the gun was put back together, it “was found to work properly and in line with how original Colt 1873 single-action revolvers were made to work.”
Even though “the full-cock step upon the hammer had been severely damaged, the top of the trigger’s sear had been broken off, and the bolt had also been broken,” the report says that there was no evidence that the gun had been changed in any way.
A technical study from the FBI in August 2022 came to similar conclusions, including that Baldwin had to have pulled the trigger.
The Gun Can’t Be Caused To Fire Without Pulling The Trigger, Unless The Hammer Is Removed From The Chamber While It’s Full:
According to that report, the gun “could not be made to fire without pulling the trigger” unless the hammer was “de-cocked upon a loaded chamber” as well as “the hammer was struck directly.” Baldwin’s lawyer said that the report was “misconstrued.”
Baldwin has said many times in interviews that the gun went off on its own, without him pushing the trigger. “The trigger wasn’t pulled,” he stated within December of 2021. “I didn’t press the button. I would never, ever, ever aim a gun at someone as well as pull the trigger.
Sources said that the charges in opposition to Baldwin had been dropped in April. Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, two of the Emmy winner’s lawyers, said in a statement, “We are pleased alongside the court’s decision to dismiss the lawsuit against Alec Baldwin, and we will encourage a proper investigation into the specifics and circumstances of this tragic accident.”
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed Was Additionally Charged With Killing Someone Without Their Permission:
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was in charge of the movie’s weapons, was additionally initially charged alongside unintentional murder. However, she has since pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of careless use of a deadly weapon.
In January, the district attorney for Santa Fe County, Mary Carmack-Altwies, and a special prosecutor, Andrea Reeb, said in a statement that Halyna Hutchins would still be living if Alec Baldwin, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, as well as David Halls had done their jobs.
It’s really that easy. The evidence readily indicates that criminals on the Rust film set didn’t care about safety.
Last Week, Gutierrez-Reed Said She Was Not Guilty:
Gutierrez-Reed, who is 26 years old, pleaded not guilty last week. The armorer’s lawyer, Jason Bowles, stated within a statement, “She is looking forward to her day within court as well as having the actions of everyone upon set fully examined.” The hearing for Gutierrez-Reed will take place in December.
Rust was made again and ended within Montana earlier this year, after Baldwin as well as the film’s directors came to a different agreement with Hutchins’ husband Matthew, with whom she has a boy named Andros.
Matthew said within a statement last October, “I will now be the executive producer of Rust. Filming will start up again in January 2023 with all the original main cast members.”
Producers And Other People In The Entertainment Business Have Come Together To Honor Halyna’s Last Work:
“I’m not interested in pointing fingers or putting blame on anyone. We all think it was an awful accident that Halyna died. I’m glad that the directors and other people in the entertainment industry have come together to honor Halyna’s last work.
Souza said, “Those of us who had the chance to spend time with Halyna knew that she was very smart, kind, artistic, and full of a lot of good energy. I only wish that the world had met her in a different way, but it would have via her great work.”
In May, Baldwin posted a picture of Patrick Scott McDermott as well as Frances Fisher from the Rust group on Instagram with the words, “It’s been a long and hard road. But today, we got to the finish line of the trail. It was nothing short of a miracle.”