Death on the film set
Search warrant issued: Authorities want to examine Alec Baldwin’s cell phone
Alec Baldwin denies any guilt for Halyna Hutchins’ death
© Seth Wenig / DPA
Who is to blame for the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins? In the investigation into the fatal shot on the film set of the western “Rust”, the authorities now want to check the cell phone data of lead actor Alec Baldwin.
Eight weeks after the fatal shot on a film set, the New Mexico state authorities issued a search warrant for the mobile phone of Hollywood star Alec Baldwin. According to the decision, the cell phone is in the possession of the actor, and the investigators want to check text messages that Baldwin has sent from the alleged iPhone, according to US media, citing court documents. Santa Fe District Judge David A. Segura approved the paper Thursday afternoon.
Alec Baldwin’s attorney is confident
During the shooting for the western “Rust” on a film ranch in Santa Fe on October 21st, the camerawoman Halyna Hutchins (42) was shot and director Joel Souza (48) was injured in the shoulder. Leading actor Baldwin had used the gun for a scene during the rehearsal. The ongoing investigation showed that there was a real bullet in the Colt. The police are looking into how this could happen.
“We are confident that the evidence will show that Mr. Baldwin has no civil or criminal responsibility for the October 21 incident and he continues to cooperate with the authorities,” the US broadcaster ABC News quoted Baldwin’s attorney Aaron Dyer. “We have proactively requested that the authorities obtain a search warrant so that we can take steps to protect Mr. Baldwin’s family and personal information that is clearly unrelated to the investigation.”
A phone holds a person’s entire life and personal information needs to be protected, Dyer warned ABC. “While they are analyzing the phone data, we hope the authorities continue to focus on how the sharp bullets got onto the set in the first place.”
According to the search warrant, the investigators want to evaluate messages, call logs, digital photos and videos as well as private messages that were sent on social media platforms in connection with the production of “Rust”, reports the US broadcaster CNN. It also aims to recover and verify all the videos, photos, and messages related to the movie that have been deleted from the phone.
To date, authorities have not brought any charges related to the death of cameraman Hutchins.