Alec Baldwin was re-charged with the murder of a Ukrainian woman
Actor Alec Baldwin has been charged for the second time with manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Galina Hutchins on the set of the film Rust, reports New York Post.
A New Mexico grand jury has indicted the actor in the death of cinematographer Galina Hutchins. The case centers on a tragedy that occurred on the set of the film Rust in October 2021, when Baldwin fired live ammunition from a handgun. As a result, the film's cameraman Galina Hutchins was killed and director Joel Souza was injured.
The real gun had to be loaded with blanks.
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The indictment was based on two alternative assumptions: Baldwin was either negligent in the use of the firearm or acted with “total disregard or indifference for the safety of others.” Prosecutors indicated that the actor could only be convicted on one of these charges, not both.
Baldwin, who also served as an executive producer and co-writer on the western, claimed he never pulled the trigger. This contradicts the FBI's statement that the revolver could not fire unless the trigger was pulled.
"We look forward to our day in court," Baldwin's attorneys Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro said.
Previous charges
The Santa Fe District Attorney charged Baldwin with the same crime in January 2022.
The actor pleaded not guilty, the case fell apart, and the charges were dropped in April of the same year. It was then determined that further tests needed to be carried out on the weapon from which the bullet was fired. After an examination, prosecutors in New Mexico concluded that the shot could not have been fired without the trigger being pulled.
“The grand jury determined that there was sufficient evidence to charge Alec Baldwin with manslaughter. We look forward to a criminal trial that will determine whether he should be convicted for Galina's untimely death,” said the Hutchins family attorney.
Who else is to blame
Prosecutors also charged "Rust" gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez-Reid, who looked after the guns on set, with the same crime.
Gutierrez-Reed, the daughter of renowned film industry gunsmith Tell Reed, drank alcohol and smoked marijuana in the evenings during filming, according to prosecutors. They added that Reed, 27, may have been suffering from a hangover when the shooting happened.
She has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial, but Baldwin will not be called to testify in her case, documents show.
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If convicted, Baldwin faces 18 months in prison.
Meanwhile, filming on Rust resumed in Montana in April 2023 and wrapped in May—and Joel Souza even returned to finish the project. Hutchins' widower, Matthew Hutchins, is attached to executive produce the film as part of his undisclosed deal with Baldwin.
Galina Hutchins was born and raised in Ukraine. She graduated from Kiev State University with a degree in international journalism, and then worked on the set of documentaries in the UK.
In 2015, she received her cinematography education in the USA and has had a successful career as a camera operator. In 2019, American Cinematographer magazine named her one of the rising stars of American cinema. Among other things, she directed the superhero film “Max Fist” (“Archenemy”) and the horror film “Darlin.”
As ForumDaily wrote earlier:
- On October 21, 2021, on the set of the film, Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin accidentally shot the cameraman and wounded the director. The Ukrainian woman was killed. Sources claim that she could have filmed her own death.
- Court records show that weapons were readily available gunsmith and film director's assistant. And judging Alec Baldwin is illogical. Although it was he who was under the gun because of the fact that he is famous.
- According to sources, the set was in complete chaos with weapons. Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the film's weapons technician, was the subject of numerous complaints while working as a gunsmith on her previous and first film, The Old Way.
- The police are checking information on Alec's phone Baldwin.
- In November, the head of the lighting team on the set of the western "Rust" (Rust) Sergey Svetnoy filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles (California) because of the shooting on the set.
- Alec Baldwin gave an interview in December for the first time since the death of cameraman Galina Hutchins, in which the actor stated that he did not pull the trigger of the revolver.
- The family of the murdered operator of the western Rust Galina Hutchins February 15 filed a wrongful death lawsuit against actor Alec Baldwin and film producers, citing cost-cutting measures as the cause of the tragedy. Relatives of the deceased accused Baldwin and others of reckless behavior.
- FBI forensics on the murder of Galina Hutchins assures that the gun could not have fired on its own, Baldwin pulled the trigger though he denies it. Court blamed for the murder of Galina Hutchins exclusively on Alec Baldwin.
- Later it became known that Alec Baldwin reached an out-of-court settlement with relatives cinematographer Galina Hutchins.
- In turn, Baldwin filed a lawsuit against several people associated with the filming of the film "Rust".
- The prosecutor's office stated that file two counts of manslaughter against Baldwin: he was obliged to ensure that weapons and ammunition were properly checked; he should never have directed it at anyone.
- On February 10, New Mexico prosecutors filed a formal indictment against Baldwin for manslaughter. Now he faces another lawsuit. from the Hutchins family, this time from her parents Anatoly Androsovich and Olga Solovey, as well as sister Svetlana Zemko.
- Baldwin won a key legal battle, as a result of which the charge of extended use of firearms in the murder of Galina Hutchins was dropped. This has drastically reduced the potential prison term he faces.
- Read the stories of the worst tragedies and accidents that occurred directly on the set in our material.
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