Crimetober Series - October 21 (Rust Film Shooting)

Day 21 of the Crimetober Series is about the “Rust” film shooting which occurred on October 21, 2021.

I apologize for the late release 

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rust_shooting_incident 
https://www.nytimes.com/article/alec-baldwin-shooting-investigation.html 
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-64824526 
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rust-shooting-timeline-alec-baldwin-halyna-hutchins/ 
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/rust-film-set-shooting 

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:17):
Well, welcome back to Nature Versus Narcissism. As always, I'm
your host, Heather, and today I'm rolling solo. Many of
our longtime listeners know that each spooky season we like
to throw a bit of a curve ball and share
a series with you that doesn't quite follow the main
Feed format, and this year is no different. This year,
we're aiming to bring you at least one main Feed
episode per day in October, plus some Patreon episodes sprinkled throughout,

(00:40):
even if that means you're receiving them leads. Life is
hectic and unpredictable. Shit happens, sorry about it, but at
least you'll get an episode for each day of October.
Because this year we're bringing you a story about a
crime that occurred on or has some type of connection to,
each day in October. And today we're talking about October first,

(01:01):
So why don't we get started. In today's episode, I
want to discuss a shooting that occurred on October twenty first,
twenty twenty one, on the set of the film Rust.
This is when actor Alec Baldwin discharged a prop weapon
which had been loaded, killing the director of photography Haleanya
Hutchins and injuring director Joel Zuza. Since I'm not doing

(01:25):
a deep dive on this case, I think the best
way to share the details is in a timeline format,
And most of what I'm about to share with you
has come from multiple CBS news articles and I kind
of compiled it in the most chronological way that I could.
And before getting really into the episode, I just want
to apologize if I mispronounced anyone's names. That's not my intention.

(01:47):
I'm just super terrible with pronunciation. Everybody knows that. So
I will be referring to the victim as Hutchins from
here on out. Okay, so the timeline. On October two,
twenty first, twenty twenty one, Hutchins died after being shot
during setup for a scene in the western movie Rust
at a film set ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe.

(02:10):
It was reported that Baldwin was pointing a pistol at
Hutchins when the gun went off, killing her and wounding
the director Joel Zuza. Forty two year old Hutchins was
shot in the chest and flown to the hospital by helicopter,
later dying of her injuries. Zuza was standing directly behind
her and was shot in the shoulder. He was taken

(02:30):
to the hospital via ambulance, treated and then later discharged.
On October twenty fourth, twenty twenty one, a vigil takes
place in New Mexico to mourn Hudgens. On October thirty first,
twenty twenty one, Baldwin speaks publicly for the first time
since the shooting and called Hudgens his friend. He was
quoted as saying, quote, the day I arrived in Santa

(02:53):
Fe and started shooting, I took her to dinner with Joel.
We were a very very well oiled crew shooting a
film together, and then this horrible event happened. End quote.
He says police had ordered him not to discuss the
ongoing investigation, but described the incident as quote one in
a trillion episode end quote. On November seventeenth, twenty twenty one,

(03:19):
Mamy Mitchell, the script supervisor for Rust, files a lawsuit
over the fatal onset shooting, claiming that Baldwin and others
involved with the producing of the film failed to keep
the set safe and, according to the lawsuit, the film's
producers and others repeatedly jeopardize the safety of the cast
and crew by skimping on safety measures to cut costs

(03:42):
talk about a whistleblower. The suit claims that there had
been two instances where guns had been misfired on set
prior to the fatal shooting, and it claims that the
gun used by Baldwin was quote regularly left unattended end quote,
and this was during the filming, and as was the

(04:02):
cart storing the ammunition, it was left unattended as well,
which would violate industry standards. On December third, twenty twenty one,
there is an interview given to ABC by Baldwin and
was described as being emotional in nature. He was quoted
as saying, quote someone is responsible for what happened, and

(04:22):
I can't say who that is, but I know it's
not me end quote. He also stated that he had
no idea there was a live round in the gun
and said that he didn't realize it had killed Hutchins
and injured SUSA until hours after the incident, which I
guess I could see with the shock of the incident
and then the victims being transported to the hospitals for aid,

(04:45):
But damn, that's wild. Additionally, in the interview, Baldwin said
that moments before the shooting, he and Hutchins were going
over camera angles for a scene involving a gun inside
the church on set, and Hutchins was instructing him to
point the gun in the air of her armpit. Baldwin
also said during the interview that when he was handed
the gun, he was told that it was cold and

(05:07):
that he was cocking the gun but not pulling the
trigger as they had rehearsed in the scene. On October fifth,
twenty twenty two, Matthew Hutchins, miss Hutchins's husband, and Baldwin
announced an agreement to settle one of the civil cases
stemming from the shooting. In a statement from his attorney,
Hutchens said he would be named an executive producer of

(05:30):
the film, which is set to resume filming quote with
all the original principal players on board end quote, and
Hutchins said quote all of us believe Holena's death was
a terrible accident. I am grateful for the producers and
the entertainment community have come together to pay tribute to
Helena's final work. End quote. And you tell me your

(05:56):
thoughts on this, is it distasteful or not? In an
Instagram post, Baldwin called the settlement a quote resolution of
this tragic and painful situation. Throughout this difficult process, everyone
has maintained that this specific desire to do what is
best for Helena's son end quote. And this is something
that Baldwin said in an Instagram post, and I just

(06:19):
kind of wanted to get everybody's thoughts on how they
feel about something like that being written. On October twenty seventh,
twenty twenty two, the Santa Fe Sheriff's Office submits its
investigative findings to prosecutors in Hutchins's death. Santa Fe Sheriff's
Office spokeswoman Juan Rios turned over the department's findings to

(06:39):
a Santa Fe based district attorney's office without setting forth
any recommendations about possible criminal charges. According to Rios, the
case file outlined all the evidence collected, including investigative interviews
and forensic analysis of physical evidence by the FBI. On
November eleventh, twenty twenty two, Baldwin filed a lawsuit against

(07:01):
several rusted crew members for negligence. The suit claims that
the actor was not responsible for the set safety and
he did not know there were live rounds in the gun.
The suit alleges that the armorer, Hannah Gutiera's Read quote
failed to check the bullets or the gun carefully. End quote.
Also claimed that assistant director David Halls quote failed to

(07:22):
check the gun carefully and yet announced the gun was
safe before handing it to Baldwin end quote, as well
as propmaster Sarah Zachary quote failed to disclose that Gutiera's
Reed had been acting recklessly offset and was a safety
risk to those around her end quote. The suit also
claims that Baldwin, a producer on the film, quote, did

(07:43):
not know and had no reason to know of any
of these facts end quote. On January nineteenth, twenty twenty three,
prosecutors announced that Baldwin and Gutierra's Read will each be
charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter for their role
in Hutchinson's death. On January thirty first, twenty twenty three,
Baldwin and Gutierra's Read are each formally charged with involuntary manslaughter.

(08:06):
It Probably Calls document alleges that Baldwin failed to address
multiple significant safety violations on the set, and noted that
the actor failed to attend training in basic firearms safety rules,
which had been made available to Baldwin. The evidence clearly
indicates that Baldwin recklessly ignored these rules on multiple occasions,

(08:26):
resulting in the fatal shooting, the statement said. The documents
also alleged that Gutiera's Read failed to perform standard safety
procedures usually required on film sets, including showing each individual
dummy round in the gun to both the assistant director
and the actor using the weapon. On February twenty, twenty

(08:47):
twenty three, prosecutors in New Mexico announced that they were
dropping a firearm enhancement from one of the manslaughter charges
against Baldwin and Gutiera's Read. Baldwin's attorneys had been fighting
against the enhancement in court, arguing that prosecutors used a
twenty twenty two version of the law that didn't apply
to the twenty twenty one shooting. With the firearm enhancement,

(09:07):
Baldwin could have faced a mandatory five year sentence. Heather Brewer,
a spokesperson for the district attorney in the case, said
in a statement that the decision to drop the enhancement
was made quote in order to avoid further litigious distractions.
By mister Baldwin and his attorney's end quote. Jason Bowles,
an attorney for Gutier's reed, said quote, we applaud the

(09:30):
decision and it was the right call end quote. February
twenty third, twenty twenty three, Baldwin pleaded not guilty to
the involuntary manslaughter charge and waived his first court appearance,
which had been scheduled for February twenty fourth. The judge
who agreed to waive his hearings set several conditions for
Baldwin's release, including prohibiting the actor from handling firearms and

(09:51):
drinking alcohol. He has also been prohibited from discussing the
shooting and any possible testimony with any potential witnesses. He
is only allowed to interactions with potential witnesses in order
to complete the movie and other activities such as promotion.
March fourteenth, twenty twenty three, RUST Special Prosecutor Andrea Reeb
announced that she was stepping down, saying in a statement

(10:13):
that she did not want questions about her dual roles
as a legislator and prosecutor to cloud the issues. Reeb
was elected to the New Mexico House of Representatives in
November of twenty twenty two, and she assumed office in
January twenty twenty three. Baldwin's legal team had filed emotion
saying it was unconstitutional for her to participate in the
case due to her elected position in the New Mexico

(10:35):
House of Representatives, and then asked for her to be disqualified.
The Santa Fe District Attorney, Mary Carmack Altweys, had called
the objection a novel theory that has no support in
New Mexico statutes or case law, The Associated Press reported
when the motion was filed. In her statement, however, Reid said, quote,

(10:57):
it has become clear that the best way I can
ensure justice served in this case is to step down
so that the prosecution can focus on the evidence and
the facts end quote. Reib was appointed by the District
attorney as a special prosecutor for the investigations in August
of twenty twenty two. In an application for emergency grant
prosecution funding, the district attorney said that the office needed

(11:18):
an experienced attorney that could devote their full time and
attention to the case. According to the filed motion, on
April twenty eeth of twenty twenty three, New Mexico prosecutors
announced that they would be dismissing the charges against Baldwin,
although the charges against Hannagutier's read remained in place. Reportedly
in preparation for the May third, twenty twenty three preliminary hearing,

(11:41):
there were some new facts that were revealed, and the
prosecution stated that they could not proceed under the current
time restraints. They did, however, state that quote this decision
does not absolve mister Baldwin of criminal culpability, and charges
may be refiled end quote. October seventeenth three, So let's

(12:02):
fast forward a bit and special prosecutors announced that they
are seeking to recharge actor Alec Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter
in the fatal shooting. The prosecutor said they'll present evidence
to a grand jury within two months, noting that quote
additional facts end quote have come to light in the
October twenty twenty one fatal shooting. When they initially dismissed

(12:23):
an involuntary manslaughter charge, they stated that at that time
they were informed that the gun may have been modified
before the shooting and it malfunctioned. However, they later received
a new analysis of the gun and were deciding whether
or not to refile against Baldwin. The gun analysis, from
experts in ballistics and forensic testing based in Arizona and

(12:45):
New Mexico, relied on replacement parts to reassemble the gun
fired by Baldwin after parts of the pistol were broken
during earlier testing by the FBI. The report examined the
gun and markings it left on spent cartridge to conclude
that the trigger had to have been pulled or depressed.

(13:07):
On January nineteenth, twenty twenty four, actor Alec Baldwin was
indicted on a new involuntary manslaughter charge. On January thirty first,
twenty twenty four, Alec Baldwin pleaded not guilty to a
refiled count of involuntary manslaughter and waived his right to
an arraignment, which had initially been scheduled for February first.
On March sixth, twenty twenty four, Gutiers Reed, who was

(13:29):
accused of loading the prop gun that Baldwin used to
accidentally shoot and kill Hutchins, was found guilty of involuntary
manslaughter and she was acquitted on a charge of evidence tampering.
She faces up to eighteen months in prison. And a
five thousand dollars fine for the charge of involuntary manslaughter.
She will be sentenced at a later date. Gutier's read

(13:50):
was taken into custody after the verdicts were read. Bly ninth,
twenty twenty four, nearly three years after the shooting on
the rest film set, a jury was seated to hear
the case against Alec Baldwin on a charge of involuntary manslaughter.
Opening statements were delivered the next day, followed by testimony
from the first witnesses. July twelfth, twenty twenty four, just

(14:12):
a few days into the trial, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer
dismissed the entire case with prejudice after the defense argued
that prosecutors hid evidence from them about ammunition that may
be related to the shooting. Quote. The late discovery of
this evidence during troo has impeded the effective use of
evidence in such a way that it has impacted the

(14:32):
fundamental fairness of the proceedings. If this conduct does not
rise to the level of bad faith, it certainly comes
so near to bad faith to show signs of scorching
end quote. So what do you think do you think
that Baldwin should have been let off basically scott free,
while Gutier's Reid was given an eighteen month prison sentence

(14:52):
plus fines. Or do you think they're both just as
culpable as one another. Love to hear your thoughts. Please
email me let me know your thoughts if you know
any more about this case, and I'd love to chat
with you about it. Nature versus Narcissism at gmail dot com.
And until next time, stay inside, stay alive, and don't

(15:14):
call the cops, ye,