Alec Baldwin and Wife Hilaria Find New “Rust” Shooting Charge 'Very Stressful,' Source Says (Exclusive)
Baldwin has been indicted by a New Mexico grand jury and charged with involuntary manslaughter, over two years after the October 2021 death of Halyna Hutchins
The new charge that Alec Baldwin faces in connection with the fatal 2021 Rust shooting have been "frustrating" for the actor and his wife Hilaria Baldwin, a source tells PEOPLE exclusively.
After Baldwin, 65, was indicted by a New Mexico grand jury and charged with involuntary manslaughter this week, a source close to the family says that the pair find the news "very stressful."
“They had a great Christmas and New Year. Hilaria also just turned 40. This is not how they wanted to start the new year," the source says, referencing the new charge, which come over two years after the October 2021 death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
"It’s stressful for Hilaria. It’s frustrating for them both that Alec is being recharged. They knew there was a possibility there would be a new indictment," they add. "The back and forth is hard. It’s very stressful.”
Reps for the couple, as well as legal reps for Baldwin, did not respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
Related: Alec Baldwin Charged Again with Involuntary Manslaughter in Fatal Rust Shooting
Alex Spiro and Luke Nikas of Quinn Emanuel, Baldwin's lawyers, said in a statement Friday that they "look forward to our day in court."
While filming Rust in October 2021 on a New Mexico set, a prop gun that Baldwin was holding was discharged, killing Hutchins and injuring Joel Souza, the director of the film. Baldwin has previously said that he did not pull the trigger and wasn't aware that the gun held a live bullet.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, armorer for the film, previously pled not guilty after being charged with involuntary manslaughter and is expected to stand trial in February.
Baldwin is now being charged with involuntary manslaughter (negligent use of a firearm) or alternatively, with involuntary manslaughter (without due caution or circumspection), months after involuntary manslaughter charges were initially dropped in April 2023.
Per New Mexico law, he faces up to 18 months in prison given the new charge.
Related: How Can Alec Baldwin Be Charged Again for the Shooting of Halyna Hutchins? A Legal Expert Explains
Gloria Allred, an attorney for Hutchins' family, said in a statement that her clients "have always sought the truth about what happened on the day that Halyna Hutchins was tragically shot and killed."
"They continue to seek the truth in our civil lawsuit for them and they also would like there to be accountability in the criminal justice system," she continued in response to Friday's indictment.
"The grand jury has decided that there is sufficient evidence to indict Alec Baldwin on the charge of involuntary manslaughter," Allred added. "We are looking forward to the criminal trial which will determine if he should be convicted for the untimely death of Halyna."
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Baldwin was initially charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter last year.
He was accused in a statement of probable cause filed in the First Judicial Court in New Mexico of not receiving required firearms training and not asking the armorer to show him that the gun did not contain live rounds.
In the document, Baldwin was also alleged to have placed his finger “on the trigger of a real firearm when a replica or rubber gun should have been used."
Special prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason J. Lewis cited “new facts” in the case when Baldwin's charges were dropped in April, and revealed two months later that the gun was sent to an independent expert for additional testing.
Expert Lucien C. Haag wrote in a forensic report obtained by PEOPLE in August that the prop gun's trigger must have been pulled “sufficiently” enough to cause the incident. But, according to The New York Times, "parts of the gun" were "damaged by the F.B.I. during its own analysis."
The prosecutors announced in October their intention to present the case to a Santa Fe grand jury.
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