EXCLUSIVE: Alec Baldwin has just seen the sudden dismissal of the involuntary manslaughter case against him for the fatal 2021 shooting of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, but the Emmy winning actor could be back in court much sooner than he expected.
Almost two years after Baldwin and Rust producers reached a settlement with the Hutchins estate and her grieving husband to end a wrongful death suit, the lawyer for Matthew Hutchins today made it very clear that circumstances have changed.
“We respect the court’s decision,” Brian J. Parish told Deadline. “We look forward to presenting all the evidence to a jury and holding Mr. Baldwin accountable for his actions in the senseless death of Halyna Hutchins,” the Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP attorney added.
Whether that court appearance will be a continuation of the initial wrongful death action filed in February 2022 or a breach of agreement suit is unclear right now, I hear.
Hutchins was killed and Rust director Joel Souza was injured on October 21, 2021 after the Colt .45 Baldwin was pointing at the cinematographer shot off a live round during a rehearsal at the Bonanza Creek Ranch near Santa Fe. Re-charged with involuntary manslaughter in January, exactly a year after he was charged the first time and after a plea deal fell apart, Baldwin entered a not guilty plea in the weeks afterward.
Looking at up to 18 months in state prison if found guilty, Baldwin has always insisted that while he cocked the hammer, he did not pull the trigger and the gun somehow went off on its own. The FBI and others disagreed, but that may be moot now. Three days into his criminal trial, Baldwin saw all the charges dismissed with predjudice by Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer over critical evidence that had been supposedly concealed.
Still, with the agreed upon funds due to the Hutchins estate having not been paid by the Rust team as scheduled, and now months behind, this could get very messy for Baldwin again, sources tell me. As it is, the February 2022 filed wrongful death suit is actually still open in the New Mexico courts as various defendants and insurance companies continue to bicker in the docket.
Resurrected in early 2023 and finished by filming in Montana, the now completed Rust, with Matthew Hutchins as an executive producer, has still yet to find a buyer.