A grand jury will decide whether Alec Baldwin should be charged for the accident on the set of the western 'Rust'

Alec Baldwin, actor and producer of the film 'Rust', during the filming where Halyna Hutchins died.Europa Press/Contacto/Santa Fe County Sheriff's Of (Europa Press/Contacto/Santa Fe C)

Alec Baldwin is close to knowing his fate in the Rust case. New Mexico prosecutors will present evidence from the investigation into the death of photographer Halyna Hutchins during filming nearly two years ago before a grand jury in mid-November. In this way, it will be the responsibility of a panel made up of citizens of the state where the tragedy occurred, to evaluate and decide if the actor and producer of the film should be charged with homicide. "After a thorough investigation over the course of several months, additional facts have come to light that we believe show that Mr. Baldwin bears criminal responsibility," special prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The prosecutors' decision puts Baldwin back in the direction of the courts, something that seemed unlikely to the actor a few months ago after a series of events. In mid-August, however, Morrissey and Lewis announced that they had received a new analysis of the gun from which the bullet that killed the filmmaker came from. The study, carried out by ballistics experts from Arizona and New Mexico, determined that the trigger of the revolver Baldwin was indeed pulled. This version contradicts the words of the interpreter, who from the first days of the incident claims that he did not pull the trigger and only cocked the weapon.

"It is unfortunate that a terrible tragedy has been turned into an unguided indictment," said Baldwin's attorneys, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro.

FBI experts had come to the same conclusion in August 2022, when the federal investigative agency released its opinion in a case that shocked Hollywood. The second analysis of the murder weapon raises the pulse for months between the New Mexico District Attorney's Office and Baldwin's defense, which has fought fiercely to prevent its client from being charged in Hutchins' death.

Prosecutors in the case have proceeded with great caution. In April, Morrissey and Lewis dropped a wrongful death charge against Baldwin in April, saying a victory in court was unlikely. The reason was that the gun used in the filming had been modified before filming. This may have led to a malfunction of the gun, which should have been checked by the armory attendant and assistant manager before ending up in Baldwin's hands. Lawyers for the actor and producer of the western celebrated the prosecutors' decision. It allowed the performer to return to several projects in the industry, including a comedy with Mickey Rourke and a film about the 1970 incident at Kent State University during a protest against the Vietnam War.

The story didn't end there. Prosecutors asked in August for a bit of time to assess whether they had a strong enough case to take to court. Morrissey, who has been handling the prosecution since March, did not rule out that the expert report could revive the indictment against Baldwin.

Halyna Hutchins' death is close to her second birthday. In this period, neither the authorities nor the production have solved the great mystery of the case: how did real bullets get to the set of the film? David Halls, the assistant director to Joel Souza (who was also wounded in the shoulder by the projectile), pleaded guilty in March to the crime of irresponsible use of a firearm. In exchange for cooperating with the authorities in the investigation of what happened, he received a reduced sentence of six months on probation.

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armory manager, also faces charges of omissions on set. He has pleaded not guilty and his trial will begin in December. His lawyer, Jason Bowles, said a few months ago that the report assumes that the revolver was not modified, which would undermine the veracity of the version that the gun was fired by mistake and had to be activated instead. The FBI in its evidence also documented that the only way the gun could fire without pulling the hammer was after a hard hit.