SANTA FE, N.M. — The “Rust” trial turned sour in hostile bickering between the prosecution and defense Wednesday, after the defense poked several holes in the sheriff’s investigation.
Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the film’s gunsmith, is on trial for manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halina Hutchins in October 2021. The prosecution argued that Gutierrez Reed unknowingly brought live ammunition to the set.
Cpl. Alexandra Hancock, the lead investigator on the case for the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office, testified Wednesday that there was no “direct” evidence for that theory — only circumstantial evidence.
In his opening statement, prosecutor Jason Lewis argued that the photos show that Gutierrez-Reed set up the live shots as early as October 10 — 11 days before the shooting — and failed to notice them.
But under questioning, Hancock agreed she had “no idea” when live filming would begin.
“You have no idea if they showed up on the first day or the eleventh?” asked defense attorney Jason Bowles.
“Right,” Hancock said.
Bowles also questioned why the Sheriff’s Office did not conduct a more thorough investigation to determine the source of the live rounds. Among other things, investigators never spoke with Joe Swanson, the doll’s maker whose initials — JS — appeared on the side of the doll’s box found on the set.
Hancock testified that the investigation was more focused on the shooting itself, rather than tracking down the source of the bullets.
“What’s really important to law enforcement is the circumstances of what happened that day, and the facts and evidence of what happened during the incident,” she said.
Moments later, Bowles asked whether it was fair to say she had not “fully investigated” the source of the live bullets.
“Yes,” Hancock replied.
The defense blamed Seth Kenney, who supplied the production with the guns and ammunition, for mixing live ammunition with similar-looking dummy rounds. Bowles argued that Kenney worked closely with investigators to shift the blame to Gutierrez-Reed.
Hancock testified that she received numerous calls from Kenney in the weeks following the shooting. When Bowles asked her if he felt like he was trying to influence the direction of the investigation, she said no.
“I don’t think he was trying to direct me in any way,” Hancock said. “He was trying to help locate the source of the live ammunition.”
Bowles noted that Hancock never obtained DNA or fingerprint samples from Kenny, and never downloaded the contents of his phone. Hancock explained that she sampled actor Alec Baldwin, Gutierrez Reed and two others because “they were on set” — and Kenny wasn’t.
Bowles also criticized investigators for waiting more than a month after the shooting to inspect Kenney’s business, PDQ Arm and Prop, even though Kenney was one of the main suppliers of the ammunition used in the movie “Rust.”
When they inspected the company, they found no live rides matching those on set.
“There would have been time for Mr. Kenny, had he wanted to, to dispose of the evidence if he had wanted to?” Boles asked.
“If he wanted to,” Hancock replied.
In redirecting, District Attorney Carrie Morrissey noted that Hancock pursued information pointing to Kenney, but ultimately stopped pursuing the initiative. When asked why, Hancock said there was no evidence to support the idea that Kenny was the source of the live bullets.
During her questioning by police in December 2021, Gutierrez Reed said she brought two boxes of shots to the group, filling them with dolls that she kept in a bag in her car. She said the dolls were leftover from a previous film called “The Old Way,” and that Kenny had provided them for use in that film.
Tensions erupted in the midst of Hancock’s questioning, with Bowles challenging the investigator’s understanding of what Gutierrez-Reed had said in her interview with police. Hancock testified that after the shooting, Gutierrez-Reed said she unloaded a Colt Baldwin .45 onto a support vehicle. Bowles argued that Hancock had misunderstood him, and the defendant never said so.
Bowles and Morrissey exchanged a series of pointed remarks about the matter, eventually prompting Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer to call for a recess. The bickering continued for another 15 to 20 minutes, with both sides fighting over how to replay a snippet of the interrogation video.
The judge eventually decided to go ahead, advising the jury that they could watch the video themselves once deliberations began.
Earlier in the trial, the defense criticized responding officers for failing to prevent contamination of the accident scene. The sheriff’s initial investigation was also called into question by Robert Schilling, an investigator hired by the Santa Fe District Attorney’s Office. In an email last year, he called the investigation “reprehensible,” “unprofessional” and “chaotic.”
David Holz, the director’s first assistant, is scheduled to testify on Thursday. He previously pleaded no contest to the case on a misdemeanor charge of negligent handling of a weapon. He was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment and agreed to give evidence in further proceedings.
Baldwin, who was holding the gun that fired the fatal shot, is not scheduled to testify because he faces a manslaughter trial in July.