Alec Baldwin has been formally charged with involuntary manslaughter in the fatal 2021 shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of their movie, Rust.
New Mexico prosecutors announced on Tuesday (January 31) that Baldwin “committed involuntary manslaughter” in an “unlawful act” with his negligent “use of a deadly weapon,” according to NBC News. Baldwin will make his initial court appearances within the next 15 days. He can appear remotely in the first court appearances, prosecutors said. The case is expected to go through a preliminary hearing. Prosecutors will have to show a judge they have enough evidence to warrant a trial. That proceeding is expected to take place in late April or early May. Depending on the scheduling between the judge, prosecutors and defense attorneys, a trial could take place by the end of 2023.
“The District Attorney and the special prosecutor are fully focused on securing justice for Halyna Hutchins,” Heather Brewer, a spokesperson for Carmack-Altwies, said in a statement on Monday. “The evidence and the facts speak for themselves.”
As we previously reported, Hutchins, 42, was fatally shot on October 21, 2021, during filming for Rust at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in New Mexico. Baldwin was rehearsing with a pistol for a scene set inside a church when the gun went off, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said in April that he believed there was a “degree of neglect,” as Baldwin has never taken any responsibility for Hutchins’ death. Back in December 2021, Baldwin went as far as to say he didn’t fire that fatal round. “I feel that someone is responsible for what happened, and I can’t say who that is. But I know it’s not me,” the actor said at the time. Prosecutors have pushed back on Baldwin’s claims. They have said they have an FBI lab report to show conclusively that the actor did, in fact, pull the trigger.