The dark story of the Alec Baldwin production Rust involved pushing through the tragedy of the accidental shooting death of the movie’s director of photography, Halyna Hutchins. Earlier this month, in an attempt to abide by the idea that the show goes on, first-look images of the western were released and published by Deadline. While production had resumed 18 months after an investigation and legal issues attempted to bring answers and closure to the situation, a new development has arisen from deeper analysis. CTV is reporting that a grand jury has now indicted Alec Baldwin on an involuntary manslaughter charge.
According to CTV, “Special prosecutors brought the case before a grand jury in Santa Fe this week, months after receiving a new analysis of the gun that was used. Baldwin’s legal team did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the indictment, and special prosecutors declined to answer questions after spending about a day and a half presenting their case to the grand jury. While the proceeding is shrouded in secrecy, two of the witnesses seen at the courthouse included crew members — one who was present when the fatal shot was fired and another who had walked off the set the day before due to safety concerns.”
Additionally, an analysis led by Lucien Haag of Forensic Science Services in Arizona had insisted that although Baldwin repeatedly denied pulling the trigger, “given the tests, findings and observations reported here, the trigger had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer of the evidence revolver.” Judges had recently put a hold on several civil lawsuits that sought compensation from Baldwin and the producers of the film. This is because the prosecutors wanted to present the charges to a grand jury first. Baldwin had first been cleared back in April when it was said that the prop gun was modified and would have fired even without Baldwin’s actions. Special prosecutors who initially dismissed the charges received new analysis of the evidence and weighed the options of refiling the charge against Baldwin.
For in-depth details of the new analysis, you can read more about it on CTV HERE.