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A forensic report released on Tuesday, August 15 revealed that the trigger on the revolver that killed cinematographer Haylna Hutchins on the set of the Western film Rust was actually pulled despite Alec Baldwin’s assertions that it wasn’t.
Back in January, Baldwin was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter related to the incident, which occurred back in October 2021. In April, though, those charges were dropped, with prosecutors saying that “new facts were revealed that demand further investigation and forensic analysis which cannot be completed.”
As a result of the findings of the forensic report, however, the 65-year-old actor could now face charges of manslaughter.
Forensic report finds trigger on the gun that killed Halyna Hutchins was pulled
The experts reconstructed the gun, which had been broken during earlier testing by the FBI, and concluded that it could only have been fired by a pull of the trigger. [via Variety]
Ultimately, the report concluded that while “Baldwin repeatedly denis” pulling the trigger on the Colt .45 revolver, the recreation showed that the “trigger had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release.”
“This fatal incident was the consequence of the hammer being manually retracted to its fully rearward and cocked position followed, at some point, by the pull or rearward depression of the trigger. Although Alec Baldwin repeatedly denies 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.”
In October of 2021, the 42-year-old Hutchins, who was the cinematographer on Baldwin’s film Rust, was accidentally killed after a round was discharged from a gun that was held by Baldwin. In the aftermath, Baldwin asserted that he did not pull the trigger and that the gun fired on its own.
A year later, Hutchins’ family settled their lawsuit with the production, which actually allowed for filming to resume and eventually conclude in May.