Alec Baldwin has reached a settlement with Halyna Hutchins’ family.
Baldwin shot and killed 42-year-old Halyna Hutchins and injured 48-year-old Joel Souza on the movie set of Rust in Santa Fe, New Mexico last October.
Baldwin pulled the trigger on the set of Rust, however, he blamed Hutchins’ death on Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the armorer and props assistant for the film.
“Someone put a live bullet in the gun who should have known better,” Baldwin said. “That was [Gutierrez Reed’s] job. Her job was to look at the ammunition and put in the dummy round or the blank round, and there wasn’t supposed to be any live rounds on the set.
“There are two people who didn’t do what they were supposed to do,” he added. “I’m not sitting there saying I want them to, you know, go to prison, or I want their lives to be hell. I don’t want that, but I want everybody to know that those are the two people that are responsible for what happened.”
“Why didn’t [Gutierrez Reed] check that bullet? Why didn’t Halls obey her?” Baldwin continued. “Why did he give me the gun? Why didn’t he check? Why did he tell the crew [it was a cold gun]?”
Alec Baldwin was sued by Halyna Hutchins’ family for wrongful death in February.
Hutchins’ family said Alec Baldwin never checked the gun before using it.
The Hutchins family on Wednesday said they reached a settlement with Baldwin.
Deadline reported:
“We have reached a settlement, subject to court approval, for our wrongful death case against the producers of Rust, including Alec Baldwin and Rust Movie Productions, LLC. As part of that settlement, our case will be dismissed,” Matthew Hutchins said Wednesday morning.
“The filming of Rust, which I will now executive produce, will resume with all the original principal players on board in January 2023,” Hutchins added of the most confidential agreement.
“I have no interest in engaging in recriminations or attribution of blame (to the producers or Mr. Baldwin). “All of us believe Halyna’s death was a terrible accident. I am grateful that the producers and the entertainment community have come together to pay tribute to Halyna’s final work.”
The culmination of weeks of negotiations, today’s news comes as the final report of the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office’s investigation into Hutchins’ death and what really went down at the Bonanza Creek Ranch location that terrible day is expected to be handed over soon to local District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies. Several Rust crew members including armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed have already filed ongoing civil lawsuits of their own in New Mexico and California. However, Wednesday’s agreement between the Hutchins family and Baldwin and other Rust producers could shift the legal landscape for those civil cases and any possible criminal charges from the Santa Fe D.A.
Rust Movie Productions, LLC, through its attorney, Melina Spadone of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, said today: “We are pleased the parties came together to resolve this matter, which, subject to court approval, marks an important step forward in celebrating Halyna’s life and honoring her work.”
Breaking Digest previously reported that Santa Fe District Attorney, Mary Carmack-Altwies, said she is weighing charges against Alec Baldwin and 3 others.
