One day at a time. Alec Baldwin and Hilaria Baldwin are still struggling with New Mexico prosecutors’ decision to charge the actor with involuntary manslaughter for the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins.
“Alec is stunned and absolutely devastated,” an insider exclusively reveals of the Emmy winner, 64, in the new issue of Us Weekly. “He’s trying to stay strong, but it’s a real challenge for him as the scale of this decision sinks in.”
New Mexico prosecutors charged the 30 Rock alum with involuntary manslaughter on Thursday, January 19, after more than a year of investigation. If convicted, the New York native could face up to five years in prison.
“The very thought of serving time in prison makes him and Hilaria sick to their stomachs,” the source says of Alec and his wife, 39. “They can’t even imagine that scenario and are telling each other there’s no way on earth this can ultimately happen.”
Hilaria Baldwin and Alec Baldwin at the Ripple of Hope Awards Gregory Pace/Shutterstock
After the charges were announced, Alec’s lawyer Luke Nikas said his client plans to fight the charges against him. “This decision distorts Halyna Hutchins’ tragic death and represents a terrible miscarriage of justice,” the attorney said in a statement on January 19. “Mr. Baldwin had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun — or anywhere on the movie set. He relied on the professionals with whom he worked, who assured him the gun did not have live rounds. We will fight these charges, and we will win.”
The Glengarry Glen Ross actor was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter for the death of Hutchins, who died in October 2021 at age 42 after she was shot on the set of Rust. Alec, for his part, has maintained that he did not pull the trigger on the gun that killed Hutchins and wounded Rust director Joel Souza.
“I know 1,000 percent I’m not responsible for what happened to her,” he told an investigator in a phone call after the shooting.
The two charges against Alec were filed “in the alternative,” meaning that the jury decides which definition of involuntary manslaughter the defendant is guilty of if the defendant is found guilty. The Beetlejuice star could be facing a penalty for involuntary manslaughter, a fourth-degree felony that carries a maximum sentence of 18 months in jail and a $5,000 fine, or involuntary manslaughter in the commission of a lawful act, which requires “proof that there was more than simple negligence involved in a death.” The second option also includes a maximum 18-month sentence and a fine, but prosecutors added a “firearm enhancement” to the charge, which adds a mandatory five years to the sentence.
“He’s hired the best legal team he could find,” the insider says of the Departed star, adding that Hilaria has been a major source of support for him. The couple, who wed in 2012, share seven children: Carmen, 9, Rafael, 7, Leo, 6, Romeo, 4, Eduardo, 2, Lucía, 21 months, and Ilaria, 4 months. Alec also shares daughter Ireland, 27, with ex-wife Kim Basinger.
“Hilaria is by his side, holding his hand and telling him it’s all going to be OK,” the source tells Us. “But it’s a challenge holding things together right now, to say the least.”
For more on how Alec and Hilaria are coping with the charges, watch the video above and pick up the new issue of Us Weekly, on stands now.
Eliza Thompson
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