Alec Baldwin Gun That Killed Halyna Hutchins “Destroyed By The State,” Hearing On ‘Rust’ Fatal Shooting Reveals; Minitrial Set For Early May Start
10.03.2023 - 02:27
/ deadline.com
The gun that killed Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in October 2021 has been “destroyed,” a lawyer for Alec Baldwin revealed today.
Treated as almost an aside in a virtual hearing Thursday in the criminal case, attorney Alex Spiro told Judge Mary Marlow Sommer that the defense team had recently learned the 1880s prop gun that fatally shot Hutchins and wounded Rust director Joel Souza is basically no more.
“The court, I don’t think is aware of this point, but I think I should tell the court that the firearm in this case, that’s a great subject of it, was destroyed by the state,” the Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan lawyer said. “So, that’s obviously an issue and we’re going to need to see that firearm, or what’s left of it,” Spiro added with withering understatement.
Neither Judge Sommer, nor Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies responded to Spiro’s statement about the gun. With assertions from his lawyer that absent Baldwin “wanted his day in court,” the brisk session moved on to setting dates for future hearings.
Baldwin’s defense team, the D.A.’s office and the attorney for co-defendant and ex-Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed did not respond to request for comment from Deadline on Spiro’s statement.
It is unclear if a potential hyperbolic Spiro was referring to damage that the gun suffered during FBI testing in the investigation of the tragedy on the Rust set at the Bonanza Creek Ranch. That testing resulted in the internal portions of the gun cracking and more, the Bureau said. Released in August 2022, the FBI’s forensic report also stated that accidental discharge testing determined that .45 Colt (.45 Long Colt) caliber F.lli Pietta single-action revolver needed a trigger pull to fire.
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