The trial of Alec Baldwin over the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film Rust will begin in July, a US judge has ruled.
The US actor (65) pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter earlier this month over the death of Hutchins on the outskirts of Santa Fe, New Mexico in October 2021.
On Monday, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer set the date for jury selection on July 9th, with the trial to begin on July 10.
“The trial is estimated to last eight days, between July 10 2024 and July 19 2024,” the judge wrote in a court order.
Baldwin, the lead actor and a co-producer of the film, was pointing a gun at Ms Hutchins during a rehearsal when the weapon went off, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza.
The actor previously said he pulled back the hammer, but not the trigger, and the gun fired.
He was initially charged in January last year but those charges were formally dismissed three months later.
Earlier in January 2024, special prosecutors brought the case before a grand jury in Santa Fe after receiving a new analysis of the gun, and Baldwin was re-charged.
The indictment accuses Baldwin of involuntary manslaughter through negligent use of a firearm, and an alternative charge of involuntary manslaughter “without due caution or circumspection”.
Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the film’s armourer, has previously pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter and is on trial at a court in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The filming of Rust resumed last year in Montana, under an agreement with the cinematographer’s widower Matthew Hutchins, that made him an executive producer.
A representative for Baldwin has been contacted.
