Updated July 12, 2024 at 08:02 AM ET
Testimony is underway in actor Alec Baldwin鈥檚 trial for involuntary manslaughter. He's been in court this week supported by his wife, Hilaria, and multiple siblings.
Nearly three years ago, Baldwin was pointing a gun during a rehearsal on the set of the movie Rust. It went off, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding the film鈥檚 director, Joel Souza.
Testimony so far
On Wednesday, jurors heard testimony from multiple Santa Fe officers on the scene that day, along with crime scene technician Marissa Poppell. On Thursday, attorneys continued to question Poppell for hours about the source of the ammunition on the film set.
Later, Alessandro Pietta, the Italian firearms manufacturer whose company created the gun in question, testified that the firearm could only be set off by pulling the trigger. And a representative from a marketing firm that distributes Pietta guns in the United States testified about their safety standards.
Alexandra Hancock, a detective in Santa Fe, said that Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed had brought live ammunition to the set. Gutierrez-Reed has already been convicted for involuntary manslaughter and is .
Opening arguments
Attorneys on both sides presented their opening arguments to the jury on Wednesday.
The prosecution鈥檚 approach
Special prosecutor Erlinda Johnson argued that Baldwin flouted safety standards on set.
鈥淭he evidence will show that someone who played make believe with a real gun and violated the cardinal rules of firearm safety is the defendant, Alexander Baldwin,鈥� Johnson said.
She argued that Baldwin didn鈥檛 do a safety check of the Colt .45 before the fatal shooting during a rehearsal in a church scene for Rust.
The defense
Baldwin鈥檚 attorney, Alex Spiro, argued that others were responsible for letting a live round onto the film set and into the gun in the first place.
鈥淭hose people failed in their duties, but Alec Baldwin committed no crime,鈥� he argued. One of those people, he said, was Gutierrez-Reed.
Spiro also played tape of a 911 call made from the set, in which Rust script supervisor Mamie Mitchell calls the shooting an accident. She also mentions the film鈥檚 first assistant director, calling him 鈥渞esponsible.鈥� First assistant director Dave Halls in upcoming trials related to the shooting, including Baldwin鈥檚.
Catch up on Baldwin鈥檚 case so far
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