Alec Baldwin advised household to return to New Mexico after crew loss of life

The jury in the Alec Baldwin trial will hear evidence that he told his family to come to New Mexico for a vacation and have a ‘good time’, just hours after the fatal shooting on the set of his ill-fated Western film ‘Rust’.

The actor told his wife Hilaria, 40, that she should come with their children the day after the fatal shooting because they couldn’t get their money back for the flights.

Baldwin, 66, had made his comments during a police interview in Santa Fe, New Mexico, which he interrupted so he could FaceTime with his wife.

The judge said the material was ‘relevant’ because Baldwin’s lawyers claimed that he was upset after the accidental shooting of Halyna Hutchins in October of 2021.

Baldwin looked tense and rocked back and forth in his chair as the decision was read out.

As the hearing at the court in Santa Fe went on he put his hand over his face and appeared to be tired – then abruptly left the room for a brief period.

The Emmy award winning actor who starred in the TV series 30 Rock, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of involuntary manslaughter.

The stakes for Baldwin could not be higher and starkly were illustrated in February when Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, 26, the armorer on the set of Rust, was found guilty for the same charges after a trial.

She was later jailed for 18 months by the same judge overseeing Baldwin’s case. Baldwin could also be jailed for 18 months if found guilty.

Speaking during a hearing without the jury present, prosecutor Kari Morrissey said that she wanted to introduce new evidence to rebut claims by Baldwin’s lawyers that he was ‘upset’ and ‘ashen in color’ after shooting Hutchins, 42.

Speaking without the jury present, prosecutor Kari Morrissey said that she wanted to introduce new evidence to rebut claims by Baldwin’s lawyers that he was ‘upset’ and ‘ashen in color’ after shooting Hutchins.

The prosecutor said that at the time of the police interview, Baldwin knew Hutchins had been ‘critically injured’ and had been taken to hospital in a helicopter.

She said: ‘He’s planning a vacation and he tells his family to come to New Mexico, we’ll have a good time.

‘This is obviously information that directly contradicts what the defense has argued. His family was coming to New Mexico the following day because he had a bit part for his daughter in the movie.’

Baldwin’s lawyers argued that there was a ‘substantial’ risk of unfair prejudice and that the jury would mistakenly view him as ‘callous’.

Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer said the material was ‘of consequence’ and could be used to respond to the defense claims about how ‘upset Mr Baldwin was’.

The judge also allowed in evidence that Morrissey argued went ‘directly to Mr Baldwin’s motivation to lie about pulling the trigger of the gun’.

She was referring to comments by Baldwin that he was 63 years old and had six children at the time and ‘I can’t rely on luck any more’.

Earlier Baldwin’s case got a boost when the jury heard that the shot list for the day of the fatal shooting called for him to cock the gun.

Prosecutors have argued that Baldwin disobeyed the director’s orders and ‘did his own thing’ when he shot Hutchins.

But Marissa Poppell, a crime scene technician with the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s office, read out the shot list, which belonged to Hutchins and was found on the floor where she fell after being hit with the bullet, calling for a close up shot ‘on (gun) hammer as thumb cocks it’.

During Poppell’s testimony Baldwin shook his head in disgust after the jury heard there was a second live round in his gun belt on the set.

Poppell said that the live round in Baldwin’s gun, which he used to shoot dead cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, was one of six live rounds on the set.

A second one was ‘in Mr Baldwin’s (gun) holster’ which was also found in a church where the fatal shooting happened. At that Baldwin shook his head left and right in apparent disgust.

In her opening statement on Wednesday, Erlinda Johnson, a special prosecutor appointed to the case, said that Baldwin had ‘violated the cardinal rules of firearm safety’ and that he was ‘reckless’ on set. 

While defense lawyer Alex Spiro told jurors that the death of Hutchins had been an ‘unspeakable tragedy’ but that Baldwin committed no crime. 

Former Santa Fe County Sheriff’s deputy Nicholas LeFleur was called as the first witness in the case, with the jury being shown footage from his body cam that he wore that day.

Hutchins can be seen laying on her back inside the set with tubes coming out of her body as medical teams tend to her.

Baldwin appeared to struggle at one point while watching the footage and put his hand on his forehead.

The trial is the culmination of a nightmare for Mr Baldwin that has lasted for nearly three years and has finally come to court.

The case has had a long and tortured path to trial: Baldwin was originally charged in January 2023 with two counts of involuntary manslaughter. 

They were dropped three months later in light of new evidence, prosecutors said, adding they needed more time to investigate.

Baldwin was sensationally charged for a second time in January this year with the same charges.

The case is expected to hear eight days of evidence and argument, followed by deliberations.