Halyna Hutchins' family rips sheriff for releasing video and photos in fatal Rust shooting

Hayla Hutchins' family is demanding that the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office take down a video it released of the late cinematographer's death, saying the footage could traumatize her young son.

"We demand that your office respect Matthew, Halyna, and Andros Hutchins' constitutional rights of dignity, privacy, respect, and fairness going forward," Matthew Hutchins' lawyer, Brian Panish, said in a letter to Sheriff Adan Mendoza on Wednesday.

"We also demand that your office take down the video footage of Halyna Hutchins dying on the church floor," Panish added. "While the damage of publishing that video is irreparable, taking down the video will end your office's complicity in causing further harm."

In October, Hutchins was working on Rust, a Western starring Alec Baldwin, when the actor accidentally shot her and director Joel Souza during a camera test at Bonanza Creek Ranch in New Mexico. Hutchins died from her injuries after being airlifted to a hospital; Souza survived.

Panish's letter to the sheriff would go on to claim that his office had promised to show him the evidence before it was released to the public but never followed through. Now the family is worried about how the video could affect the Hutchinsons' 9-year-old son, Andros. "The first time Mr. Hutchins saw the disturbing and unsettling video footage of his dying wife lying on the church floor was on Radar Online, an internet website," Panish said.

Fred Hayes/Getty Images Halyna Hutchins

"A greater respect for the Hutchins' constitutional rights would not have allowed this video footage to be released," the letter continued. "The potential consequences are disturbing given how information is misused on social media. We fear, for example, that this shocking footage of Andros' mother dying may be material used by bullies to emotionally abuse him in the future." Panish argues that by releasing the evidence, the sheriff's office violated New Mexico law that affords "the right to be treated with fairness and respect for the victim's dignity and privacy throughout the criminal justice process,"

Panish and the Santa Fe Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to EW's request for comment.

On Monday, the sheriff's office released camera footage taken by authorities on the day of the incident, Oct. 21, 2021. The footage shows medics treating Hutchins and director Joel Souza. "Today the sheriff's office is releasing all files associated with our ongoing investigation," Mendoza said in a statement. "The files are all related to the Rust movie set investigation and include lapel/dash camera footage from deputies and detectives, incident reports, crime scene photos, examination reports, witness interviews, set video, and staff photos collected throughout the course of this investigation."

The sheriff's office is still waiting on other forensics and DNA analysis, as well as Baldwin's photo data, before it can finish the investigation. So far no one has been charged with a crime. "Once these investigative components are provided to the sheriff's office, we will be able to complete the investigation to forward it to the Santa Fe District Attorney for review," the sheriff said Monday.

Last week the New Mexico Environment Department's Occupational Health and Safety Bureau issued what it called "the highest level of citation" and a "maximum fine" of more than $136,000 to the Rust production.

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