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Alec Baldwin’s wife, Hilaria, was seen stone-faced on Thursday afternoon, hours after her husband learned he was to be charged with manslaughter over filming on the set of his film Rust.
Hilaria, 39, was accompanied by several of her seven children when she arrived at her Manhattan apartment.
Alec was nowhere in sight. His lawyers have said he plans to contest the charges, insisting that he cannot be held responsible for the prop weapons on set, which were the responsibility of gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez-Reed.
She will also be charged, the Santa Fe prosecutor’s office announced Thursday morning.
Hilaria Baldwin is seen out and about in New York City on Thursday, hours after her husband was charged with manslaughter.
The 39-year-old ignored waiting photographers as she left her home, in shimmering slippers.
Hilaria, a yoga teacher, kept her head down among the waiting photographers.
She later returned home with several of her seven children.
The Massachusetts-born wife of Alec Baldwin did her best to ignore the waiting photographers.
The film’s assistant director, Dave Halls, pleaded guilty to negligence and received a six-month suspended sentence.
Hilaria, who married the Oscar-nominated actor in 2012, was seen earlier on Thursday, before the charges were announced, taking her children to school.
When she left to pick them up later that afternoon, her expression had noticeably changed.
Mary Carmack-Altwies, the Santa Fe prosecutor, criticized Baldwin while announcing the charges, saying “an actor doesn’t get a free pass” and insisting that he pulled the trigger on the gun that killed Hutchins.
Baldwin has vowed to fight the charges, calling them a “terrible judicial error.”
Despite prosecutors announcing the charges, it’s unclear how or why the live rounds made it to the set, and whether Baldwin pulled the trigger. He insists that he did not do it, and has refuted an FBI report that claims that he must have done it.
He and Gutierrez-Reed face up to 18 months in prison if convicted of manslaughter.
If they are also convicted of enhancing the use of firearms on that charge, they will face a mandatory five-year prison sentence.
In a statement, Baldwin’s lawyer said: “This decision misrepresents the tragic death of Halyna Hutchins and represents a terrible miscarriage of justice.” Mr. Baldwin had no reason to believe that there was a live bullet in the gun, or anywhere on the film set.
The 39-year-old man is seen on Thursday morning, before the charges were announced.
She dropped the kids off at school and returned to the family’s Manhattan apartment.
Mary Carmack-Altwies, the First Judicial District Attorney in New Mexico, said in an interview with CNN today: “An actor doesn’t get a free pass just because he’s an actor.” She promised to take the case to trial.
The gun fired by Baldwin on the set of ‘Rust’
‘He trusted the professionals he worked with, who assured him that the weapon did not have live bullets. We will fight these charges and we will win.’
Baldwin is seen in costume, covered in fake blood, in an image posted to Instagram.
Carmack-Altwies told CNN they concluded Baldwin pulled the trigger, running a “fast and loose outfit” that was plagued with security issues.
‘There was such a lack of security and safety standards on that set. There were live rounds on set, mixed in with dummy rounds.
‘Nobody was checking them or at least they weren’t constantly checking them.
“Somehow they loaded up on a gun, handed it over to Alec Baldwin, he didn’t check it, he didn’t do what he was supposed to do to make sure it was safe or someone else was safe.”
“He pointed the gun at Halyna Hutchins and pulled the trigger,” she said.
She said “the totality of circumstances” led to the decision, adding: “This was a really fast and loose set. And that nobody was doing their job.
While it may have been an accident, he said Baldwin “doesn’t have a free pass” because he’s a star.
Halyna Hutchins was shot to death on October 21, 2021 by actor Alec Baldwin
Assistant director Dave Halls and gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez-Reed. He pleaded guilty to a single count of negligent use of a deadly weapon and she was charged with manslaughter.
Just because it’s an accident doesn’t mean it’s not a crime. They didn’t mean to, they didn’t mean to kill, but it happened anyway, and it happened because of more than simple negligence.
“We’ve talked to a lot of actors, A-list and otherwise, who have said they always check their guns or have someone check them in front of them.
‘An actor doesn’t get a free pass just because he’s an actor. All are equal before the law.
Gutierrez-Reed also vowed to fight the charges.
In a statement, her lawyers said: “Hannah is, and always has been, very emotional and saddened by this tragic accident. But she didn’t commit manslaughter.
‘These charges are the result of a seriously flawed investigation and an inaccurate understanding of all the facts.
“We intend to expose the full truth and believe that a jury will clear Hannah of the crimes.”
Prosecutors say they are confident in the decision. He was welcomed by Hutchin’s family, who issued a statement through his attorney.
“We want to thank the Santa Fe Sheriff and District Attorney for concluding their thorough investigation and determining that the manslaughter charges are justified for the murder of Halyna Hutchins with knowing disregard for human life.
‘Our independent investigation also supports the charges being justified. It’s a comfort to the family that, in New Mexico, no one is above the law.
“We support the charges, will cooperate fully with this prosecution, and fervently hope that the justice system works to protect the public and hold those who break the law accountable.”
Announcing the charges, special counsel Andrea Reeb said: “If any of these three people, Alec Baldwin, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed or David Halls, had done their job, Halyna Hutchins would be alive today.” It’s that easy.’
“The evidence clearly shows a pattern of criminal disregard for security on the ‘Rust’ set.
“In New Mexico, there is no room for movie sets that do not take our state’s commitment to public safety and gun safety seriously,” he added.
Prosecutors have not formally filed the charges, they will do so by the end of the month.
‘There is a very clear process to seek justice in this case. We are committed to upholding the integrity of that process to ensure equal justice under the law,” added Carmack-Altwies.
After that, the three defendants will have to make a first appearance but they will be allowed to do so virtually.
Baldwin, 64, accidentally shot and killed Halyna Hutchins on the set of the western film in October 2021.
In the 15 months since, he has emphatically denied responsibility for the accident, insisting that he did not pull the trigger, despite the fact that an FBI forensics analysis of the prop weapon he used concluded that he did.
Baldwin was sued by Halyna’s widower, Matthew, in 2022, but settled the suit for an undisclosed sum.
It also made Matthew an executive producer on the film, which will resume production in Los Angeles.
Prosecutors have resisted criticism over the long delay in making a decision.
They say they were forced to wait for reports from both the FBI, which took ten months, and the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office, which took a year.
There was no press conference to announce the decision today.
Instead, the prosecutor’s office issued a written statement to the media that was also posted online.