In a stunning twist on Friday, the New Mexico judge in Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial dismissed the case after ruling that prosecutors hid rounds of bullets that may have been linked to the death of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
On the third day of proceedings in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer agreed with a motion by Baldwin’s defence team earlier in the day that the ammunition had not been disclosed to them as required under evidence rules.
The defence had argued that live rounds recovered by Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office were not logged according to official procedure and had been filed under a separate case number, putting them beyond reach of the defence.
While it remains unclear how live rounds made their way on to the set, the existence of the contested bullets came to light on Thursday, when a crime scene evidence technician told the court that retired police officer Troy Teske, a friend of the step-father of the production’s armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, had handed in ammunition that might be relevant to the proceedings.
Santa Fe special prosecutor Kari Morrissey argued the ammunition was not related to the case, nor was it concealed from Baldwin’s lawyers, adding that the bullets were not the same size as those retrieved from the set on Bonanza Creek Ranch. Morrissey even took the unusual step of placing herself on the stand to explain her version of events.
However Judge Sommer, who donned blue latex gloves and opened the evidence envelope in court and found that three of the bullets resembled live rounds found on the set, disagreed.
Baldwin, 66, wept and hugged his attorneys and wife Hilaria as the judge announced she was dismissing the case. Earlier in the day Judge Sommer had sent the jury home while she considered the defence’s motion to dismiss the case.
The “with prejudice” ruling means the case is permanently dismissed and cannot be retried.
Hutchins died on October 21, 2021, hours after a prop gun in Baldwin’s hands went off and hit her during the rehearsal on Bonanza Creek Ranch near Santa Fe.
Baldwin had pleaded not guilty to the involuntary manslaughter charges and asserted in court that he did not know the Colt .45 contained a live round. He was handed the gun during the fateful rehearsal by Gutierrez-Reed and assistant director and safety officer Dave Halls called out “cold gun”, indicating it contained dummies.
The outcome may now call into question the validity of the 18-month prison sentence imposed on Gutierrez-Reed earlier this year.
Baldwin still faces a civil suit from Hutchins’ husband Matthew Hutchins, which it is understood has not yet been settled.
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