Alec Baldwin ‘Rust’ Shooting Case Sees Halyna Hutchins’ Widower Added To D.A. Witness List
A week before the first court hearing in the Rust criminal case against Alec Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed for the fatal October 2021 shooting of Halyna Hutchins, the Santa Fe District Attorney has added a particularly poignant individual to its witness list.
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In a fourth amended state’s witness list for preliminary hearing filed Thursday in New Mexico, D.A. Mary Carmack-Altwies now has Matthew Hutchins on the list (read it here) of 46 names.
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His addition to potentially provide information for the DA in the hearing and forthcoming trial could be an inflection moment in the case, in which Baldwin and Reed are charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter and face up to five years behind bars if found guilty. The initial hearing is scheduled for February 24; set to held before state Judge Mary Marlowe Summer, the hearing will be virtual, with the defendants expected to be in attendance.
Coming almost two weeks after the D.A. released her first witness list full of Rust crew members and law enforcement officials, the addition to the list certainly appear to be another shift in tone from last October, when widower Hutchins called off a wrongful-death suit against Baldwin and Rust producers to become an executive producer on a potentially resurrected Rust movie.
When charges were unveiled against Baldwin and Reed in late January, Hutchins’ lead lawyer seemed to lean away from the ethos of the settlement. “Our independent investigation also supports charges are warranted,” said Hutchins’ family attorney Brian J. Panish on January 31. “It is a comfort to the family that, in New Mexico, no one is above the law,” the LA-based Panish | Shea | Boyle | Ravipudi LLP partner added. “We support the charges, will fully cooperate with this prosecution, and fervently hope the justice system works to protect the public and hold accountable those who break the law.”
Adding another twist: a declaration earlier this week that a Baldwin-led production of the indie Western was set to start up this spring and a documentary on cinematographer Hutchins in the works too, for which Matthew Hutchins was named as an EP.
The newly amended witness list has Matthew Hutchins’ Albuquerque lawyer Randi McGinn and her office among contact information. Panish, Hutchins’ primary attorney, was unavailable for comment on the new witness list, Deadline was told Friday.
The Santa Fa D.A.’s office also had no comment when contacted.
Baldwin’s lawyer was also not available for comment, Deadline was told today,
However, sources close to the Rust production indicate that Matthew Hutchins remains an active EP on the upcoming Rust feature, despite appearances to the contrary. Essentially, the perception is that the DA is looking to build a robust case to take before a jury and that is why so many names are appearing on the growing witness list.
There is no doubt that the list is putting a lot of key players up for giving testimony if called.
Rust director Joel Souza, who was injured in the blast from the Baldwin-held 1880s prop gun that killed Hutchins on October 21, 2021, is on the list, as is 1st Assistant Director David Halls, who cut an as-yet-unreleased plea deal with the D.A. Amidst FBI agents and Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office detectives, also on the list are Rust script supervisor Maime Mitchell (who filed a negligence civil suit in L.A. against Baldwin and Rust producers) and armorer mentor Seth Kenney; and prop master Sarah Zachry, both of whom were under scrutiny for the shooting and the still unresolved matter of how live ammo got on the Bonanza Creek Ranch set of the $7 million film.
Fighting the enhancement provision of one of the involuntary manslaughter charges and the constitutionality of the D.A.-appointed special prosecutor in the criminal case, Baldwin has repeatedly insisted he did not pull the trigger while pointing the gun at Hutchins during a rehearsal that turned terribly wrong, though evidence and analysis from the sheriff’s office and the FBI contained in a 551-page report made public November 18 disagrees. “With the hammer at full cock, the revolver could not be made to fire without a pull of the trigger while the working internal components were intact and functional,” the document from the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office said.
Adding to several previously filed civil lawsuits in California and New Mexico, Gloria Allred last week brought a suit on behalf of Hutchins’ Ukrainian-based family members Olga Solovey, Anatoli Androsvych and Svetlana Zemko against Baldwin, his management firm Cavalry Media, and the Western movie’s producers. That suit asked for unspecified damages “against each defendant.”
Interestingly, Matthew Hutchins’ attorney put some fast distance between his client and that lawsuit.
“Matt Hutchins is pursuing claims on his behalf and on behalf of Andros,” Panish told Deadline after the action from Halyna Hutchins’ parents and sibling was revealed. “We do not believe any other family members have a claim under New Mexico or California law. Neither Mr. Hutchins nor his attorneys were made aware of the family’s intention to file a lawsuit before today.”
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