Prosecutors accuse Rust producers of obstructing investigation into Halyna Hutchins' death

Prosecutors may have officially moved on from efforts to convict actor and producer Alec Baldwin of any criminal culpability in the 2021 death of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, but that doesn’t mean they’re done lobbing accusations at the low-budget Western’s producers. In a hearing today, attached to the trial of Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed—the only person currently facing charges in Hutchins’ death, after charges against Baldwin were dropped in April—the prosecutors laid in to the Rust producers, saying that they have “either intervened, interfered, or obstructed the criminal investigation in this case,” with special prosecutor Kari T. Morrissey stating that “This entire tragedy occurred because Rust Productions cut corners every chance they could, and they hired inexperienced and ill-equipped crew members.”

Per Deadline, the hearing in question, which was livestreamed to the public earlier today, put at least some of the focus back on Baldwin, as prosecutors attempted to suss out what role he had as a producer on the movie, and, presumably, whether he was involved in the alleged corner-cutting that might have contributed to Hutchins’ death. Prosecutors are seeking documents about the behind-the-scenes workings of the film, which producers have rejected on the grounds that the request is “burdensome.”

For Baldwin’s part, he has long contended that he never pulled the trigger on the revolver that went off in his hand during a rehearsal on October 21, 2021, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza, with the actor instead putting his ire and focus on the question of why a live bullet was on the movie’s set in the first place. (A question that has faced a lot of attention over the last two years, and is likely to be a major element of Gutierrez-Reed’s trial.) Charges against the actor were dropped at least in part because of ongoing confusion surrounding the forensic examination of the weapon, which was reportedly damaged during some of the initial tests.

Gutierrez-Reed is currently facing charges of involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering. Her trial proper is set to begin in February of 2024.