A US judge has dismissed involuntary manslaughter charges against Alec Baldwin after his lawyers alleged police hid evidence of the source of the live round that killed Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in 2021.
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer made the ruling three days after Baldwin’s trial began in New Mexico, after hearing evidence on the defence request.
The actor’s lawyers said the Santa Fe sheriff’s office took possession of live rounds as evidence in the case but failed to list them in the Rust investigation file or disclose their existence to defence lawyers.
They also alleged the rounds were evidence the bullet that killed Hutchins came from Seth Kenney, the movie’s prop supplier. Kenney has denied supplying live ammunition to the production and has not been charged in the case. He had been expected to testify against Baldwin.