A Santa Fe judge dismissed Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter case related to the shooting of Halyna Hutchins on the “Rust” film set due to concealed evidence by the prosecution. The dismissal means Baldwin cannot be charged again for the incident.
SANTA FE, NM (7-minute read) — A Santa Fe judge on Friday dismissed the involuntary manslaughter case against Alec Baldwin for the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film “Rust” after determining that the prosecution had concealed evidence from Baldwin’s legal team.
The courtroom was tense as Baldwin, overwhelmed with emotion, cupped his face in his hands and wept when Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer ruled that the case would be dismissed with prejudice. This ruling prevents the charge from being refiled against the actor.
“The state’s willful withholding of this information was intentional and deliberate,” Sommer said. “If this conduct does not rise to the level of bad faith, it certainly comes so near to bad faith as to show signs of scorching prejudice. There is no way for the court to right this wrong.”
Baldwin’s brother, Stephen, was present in the court every day, showing steadfast support.
The trial’s third full day in the First Judicial District Court began with defense attorney Luke Nikas accusing the state of withholding crucial evidence that suggested prop distributor Seth Kenney was the source of the live ammunition.
This accusation led the Santa Fe judge to dismiss the jury for an emergency hearing, during which lead prosecutor Kari Morrissey took the stand herself. Morrissey testified that she did not consider the evidence from ex-Arizona police officer Troy Teske to be exculpatory, as the ammunition he provided had never left Arizona before the shooting on the “Rust” set.
“I decided not to take any steps to collect this ammunition because it was in Arizona, had never come to New Mexico, and didn’t match the live rounds on the set of ‘Rust,’” Morrissey explained.
The defense team argued that investigators and prosecutors concealed evidence regarding the ammunition’s origin, linked to the accidental death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during the 2021 filming of “Rust.” Armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed was convicted of loading a live round into a revolver that Baldwin fired, resulting in Hutchins’s death and wounding director Joel Souza.
During the trial on March 6, Teske, who is also a family friend of Gutierrez Reed’s father, delivered a collection of rounds to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office. He claimed these rounds, provided by Kenney, matched the bullet that killed Hutchins.
Santa Fe County Sheriff’s crime scene technician Marissa Poppell admitted that the evidence from Teske was not inventoried under the “Rust” case but under a different case number. This mismanagement led to the defense not receiving a supplemental report on the new evidence.
Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Corporal Alexandria Hancock, the lead investigator, confirmed that the decision to file the evidence separately was made after consultations with prosecutors and supervisors.
The defense became aware of the ammunition Teske turned over through body camera footage showing him entering the sheriff’s office. At the time, he mentioned having critical evidence and offered to give a statement.
Earlier that day, Morrissey informed the court that she first saw the supplemental report, which was allegedly withheld from the defense, that morning.
This development struck a significant blow to the prosecution team, which had been working on the case for over three years and had only called seven witnesses before the dismissal.
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