Halyna Hutchins’s M*rder We@pon on the Set of ‘rust’ May Have Been Altered

Prosecutors in New Mexico are looking into whether the revolver that went off and k!lled “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was modified in any way. Documents filed this week by prosecutors requested permission to send the.45 Long Colt revolver, ammunition, and other evidence seized from the film set to a ballistics expert for forensic testing.

“The modification appears to be related to the notches on the internal portion of the hammer for full cock, half cock, and quarter cock positions,” the prosecutors wrote. “It looks like some of the material has been removed from these notches or ground down to make them less noticeable.”

This comes after prosecutors withdrew their case against Baldwin in October 2021, a month after Hutchins’ de@th. The Los Angeles Times at the time stated, citing unnamed sources, that prosecutors had only learned of the probable changes to the rifle.

Gun That K!lled Halyna Hutchins on ‘Rust’ (1)
Gun That K!lled Halyna Hutchins on ‘Rust’ (1)

Baldwin and “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed were initially charged with involuntary manslaughter in late January on the basis of alleged failure to adhere to a number of safety precautions. Neither one of them admitted culpability by entering a not guilty plea.

The prosecution, however, started to fall apart. A month later, the charges were dropped by the Santa Fe district attorney’s office, resulting in a shorter possible sentence. In April, it stopped carrying them altogether for Baldwin.

There is currently an active criminal case against Gutierrez-Reed. The film’s ammunition supplier is being sued by the set’s armorer for allegedly bringing real bullets to the set during filming. Gutierrez-Reed’s lawyer, Jason Bowles, reportedly does not oppose the prosecution’s move to transfer the pistol.

Despite FBI tests and expert skepticism, if it is proved to have been modified, it could lend credence to Baldwin’s assertion that he never pulled the trigger when it discharged. During a dress rehearsal for Baldwin’s western picture, Hutchins was k!lled and director Joel Souza was wounded by a stray bullet.

After district attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies resigned in March, special prosecutors Kari T. Morrissey and Jason J. Lewis were brought in to handle the case. Baldwin has further legal hurdles, and it is still possible that a new lawsuit could be brought against him.

On February 9, Hutchins’s relatives in Ukraine sued him and others engaged in the production, alleging battery, deliberate infliction of emotional distress, carelessness, and loss of consortium. Loss of consortium refers to the effect Hutchins’s de@th had on her personal ties.

The California Examiner is a good newspaper to read if you want to keep up with the news:

In the same month that the pistol went off on set, three former crew members filed a lawsuit against Baldwin and the film’s producers, claiming they suffered “blast injuries” as a result. Baldwin filed a case against Gutierrez-Reed and others involved with the film in October, claiming that they gave him the gun he used to sh*ot and k!ll Hutchins.

The lawsuit “seeks to clear his name” by holding the defendants “accountable for their misconduct.” Production on “Rust” picked back up in April, on the same day that prosecutors announced they would be dropping charges against Baldwin.

The film was originally sh*t in New Mexico, but production was later relocated to a ranch in Montana. This Thursday, Baldwin celebrated the final day of production by posting a selfie to Instagram after he had shaved off the beard he had grown for the western.

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