American actor Alec Baldwin (65) was indicted by a grand jury for manslaughter following the shooting death of a camerawoman on the set of the western “Rust”. The announcement was made by the responsible court in the US state of New Mexico on Friday.
Special prosecutors presented the case to a grand jury last year to begin new criminal proceedings against Baldwin. In the United States, a grand jury investigates crimes after the prosecution presents evidence and decides whether charges should be brought.
Camerawoman Halyna Hutchins was fatally injured while filming the western “Rust” on a ranch in Santa Fe in October 2021. Director Joel Souza also suffered a gunshot wound. Baldwin, who starred in and produced the film, was using a gun while rehearsing a scene when a shot was fired. There was a real bullet in the revolver. It's unclear how the live ammunition ended up on set.
After “extensive investigations” in recent months, additional facts have emerged that they believe show Baldwin is criminally responsible, special investigators Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis announced in October. Baldwin's lawyers wrote in a statement at the time that it was regrettable that a “horrible tragedy” was being turned into a “mistaken accusation.”
Baldwin and master-at-arms Hannah Gutierrez-Reed were charged with negligent homicide in January 2023, and charges against Baldwin were initially dropped in April. Further investigation and forensic analysis was needed, it was said at the time. The charges against Gutierrez-Reed remain and his trial is scheduled for 2024. Both have always denied responsibility 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 by two firearms experts published in August laid new accusations against the actor. “Although Alec Baldwin has repeatedly denied pulling the trigger, based on the tests, findings, and observations reported here, the trigger must have been pulled or depressed enough to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer of the revolver,” People magazine cites from the report. of experts. .