The mother of late “The Last” cinematographer Halina Hutchins said in court Monday that her daughter’s untimely death “ruined my entire life.”
The emotional statement came before “The Last” set armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reid was sentenced to 18 months in prison for her role in the death of Hutchins, a married mother, on Oct. 21, 2021. It was one of many statements made by friends and family in New Mexico District Court. one.
“I remember the day my mother was no longer there,” her mother, Olga Solovey, tearfully said in translated Ukrainian with subtitles in a video recording played for Judge Mary Marlow Sommer. . She said, “It’s very difficult for me to not have her, very difficult.”
“The day of her death ruined my entire life. It’s heartbreaking to watch a child grow up without a mother,” Solovy said of Hutchins’ young son Andros. .
Ms Solovey recalled the day Hutchins’ husband of 16 years, Matthew Hutchins, called her in the middle of the night to tell her the terrible news and took a few minutes to work up the courage to tell her mother-in-law that her daughter had died. I talked about it.
“He said, ‘Halina is gone,'” Solovy recalled. “I don’t remember anything after that moment. I was home alone. I kept screaming and pleading with him.”
Solovy said he couldn’t believe it was true, but Matthew said: “She’s gone.”
“Time doesn’t heal,” said the heartbroken mother. She said: “It’s been two and a half years and things are getting worse and worse.”
And Solovey said no one at the scene involved in the shooting “never came to apologize.” No one ever expressed sympathy. ”
Gutierrez-Reed, who cried intermittently during her victim impact statement, was found guilty of manslaughter last month.
Alec Baldwin, who fired the fatal shot during a rehearsal without knowing there was live ammunition in the gun, is scheduled to go on trial on July 10 on the same charges.
Assistant director David Halls had previously pleaded guilty to negligent handling of a firearm and received a suspended sentence.
The judge also heard a translated video statement from Hutchins’ sister, Svetlana Zemko. She talked about how close she was with her brother, how great a person Hutchins was, and how she dreamed of their children playing together someday.
“I knew it would never happen,” Zemko said through tears, thinking about how many children who had never met Hutchins knew about Andros.
“I really didn’t want to cry. It’s one thing to say how wonderful she was, it’s another to understand that she’s gone forever,” the sisters said.
Hutchins’ family attorney, Gloria Allred, read a statement from her father, Anatoly Androsovich, who was too ill to record the video.
““The death of my daughter Halina was a tragedy in my life and the most bitter loss,” her father said in a statement. “Words cannot express the soul-wrenching pain and suffering that I experience every day.”
Hutchins’ death “caused a sudden deterioration in my health,” Androsovich’s statement said. “I think of Halina every day and remember the moments of our life.”
As a former military officer, he said he knows that something like this could only have happened because of “systematic and serious violations” of gun safety regulations.
“Lust” director Joel Souza, who was injured in the shooting, spoke live on a video feed about how his life changed for the worse on the day of the incident.
“In one moment, the world made sense,” Souza said. “It didn’t happen the next minute, and it doesn’t happen now. And I don’t know if it will happen again.”
“I want the pain to go away,” Souza said. “And most of all, we want Halina to return home to her husband and her son.”
Stephen Metz, a close family friend, said his son and Hutchins’ son were very close, which brought Metz closer to Matthew and Halina.
“Matt was so affected by this that he moved out,” Metz said, adding that he and his son had both lost their friendship.” Basically, when Halina died, Matt also died. ”
Emilia Mendieta, one of Hutchins’ best friends who went to film school with him, told the court: [were] ‘i believe in you. ‘These four words will forever resonate in my soul. ”
The friend said the shooting was the result of a “massive system failure” in which the armorer played a major role.
“It all comes down to a very simple question: Why was there live ammunition on set?” Mendieta asked. “That’s where Hannah Gutierrez-Reid failed Halina.”. It was her job to check the gun and check for bullets to make sure Halina was safe. ”
Another film friend, Anak Rabanal, sobbed throughout the statement, which was released via streaming video.
“My friend, I will miss you,” Rabanal said. “I’ll do my best to be the person you want me to be.”
Gutierrez-Reed, 26, who has been in prison since his conviction, begged for leniency and said he was “heartbroken” by Hutchins’ death.
“I understand that she was taken too soon,” Gutierrez-Reed said, her voice rising with emotion.
But she went on to say that the media unfairly portrayed her as a “monster” and tried to escape responsibility for the incident. She claimed she was not given adequate time and resources to effectively enforce gun safety standards on set.
Marlow Sommer threw a book at the new armorer and criticized him for not taking responsibility.
“Only you turned a safe weapon into a deadly weapon,” the judge said.
“The word repentance refers to deep regret that comes from guilt over past wrongs. That’s not you,” the judge added.
Last year, Hutchins’ mother, father, and sister filed a lawsuit against Baldwin and other producers for negligence and other claims, alleging that Hutchins would have been able to flee the war-torn country had he still been alive.
The production company settled with Matthew Hutchins in 2022 for an undisclosed amount.
