Trial of the “Rust” tragedy
Armsmaster Hannah Gutierrez-Reed found guilty
Armsmaster Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was found guilty by the jury.
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“Rust” weapons master Hannah Gutierrez-Reed has been found guilty by the jury. A person was shot on set.
Weapons master Hannah Gutierrez-Reed (26) was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter by a jury in a trial in Santa Fe, New Mexico, after camerawoman Halyna Hutchins (1979-2021) was shot on set. This is reported by “People” magazine, among others.
Responsible for weapons as weapons master
The jury reached their verdict after listening to dozens of witnesses during the ten-day trial, including eyewitnesses, FBI evidence analysts, an ammunition supplier and director Joel Souza (50). Gutierrez-Reed was found not guilty of tampering with evidence.
The weapon master was responsible for the weapons during the production of the western film in New Mexico in October 2021 when a weapon operated by leading actor and co-producer Alec Baldwin (65) went off during a rehearsal. The camerawoman died in the incident and Joel Souza was injured. The latter testified at the trial that the noise of the shot was “deafening” and felt “as if someone had hit me on the shoulder with a baseball bat.”
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer ordered Gutierrez-Reed to be held in custody at the Santa Fe County Adult Detention Center following the guilty verdict. If convicted, she could face up to 18 months in prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
Separate trial for Alec Baldwin
During the trial, jurors were shown footage of Baldwin waving a gun before the fatal shooting. The actor has to answer in a separate case.
Baldwin had also been charged with involuntary manslaughter in January 2023; however, the charges were dropped three months later. After the second arraignment in January of this year, the actor was released on a personal bond, according to court documents. According to New Mexico court documents obtained by the magazine, Baldwin’s trial date was set for August 6 earlier this month. He has pleaded not guilty to the new charge.
Filming on “Rust” resumed in Montana last year – with Baldwin in the lead role – after a deal made Halyna Hutchins’ widower executive producer.