US-actor Alec Baldwin (65) has been indicted by a grand jury for involuntary manslaughter after the death of a camerawoman in a shooting incident on the set of the western “Rust”. This was announced by the responsible court in the US state of New Mexico on Friday.
The special prosecutors presented the case to a grand jury last year to initiate a new criminal case against Baldwin. In the United States, a grand jury investigates crimes after the prosecution presents evidence and decides whether charges should be filed.
Camerawoman Halyna Hutchins was fatally injured while filming the western “Rust” on a film ranch in Santa Fe in October 2021. Director Joel Souza also suffered a gunshot wound. Baldwin, who starred and produced the film, was using a gun while rehearsing a scene when a shot was fired. There was a real bullet in the Colt. It is unclear how the live ammunition ended up on set.
Investigations reveal new facts
After “extensive investigations” in recent months, additional facts have come to light that, in their view, show that Baldwin is criminally liable, special investigators Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis announced in October. Baldwin's lawyers wrote in a statement at the time that it was unfortunate that a “horrible tragedy” was being turned into a “misguided prosecution.”
Baldwin and gun master Hannah Gutierrez-Reed were charged with involuntary manslaughter in January 2023, and the charges against Baldwin were initially dropped in April. Further investigations and forensic analyzes were required, it was said at the time. The charges against Gutierrez-Reed remained, and her trial is scheduled for 2024. Both have always denied blame for the fatal accident.
Baldwin insisted in interviews that he did not pull the trigger. The investigators checked, among other things, whether a possible malfunction of the weapon could have triggered it. A report from two firearms experts published in August placed new charges on the actor. “Although Alec Baldwin repeatedly denies pulling the trigger, based on the tests, findings and observations reported here, the trigger must have been pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the revolver from fully cocked or retracted hammer,” People magazine quotes. from the experts' report.
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