Alec Baldwin’s lawyers demanded a dismissal of the manslaughter case in court on Monday, after the case investigators destroyed the key piece of evidence, his Colt .45 revolver.
In two weeks, Baldwin will stand trial in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on a claim that he shot and murdered cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in October 2021 out of carelessness.
Baldwin has denied firing the trigger, and the defense has maintained that the gun was altered to make it more easily shootable.
An FBI examiner hit the gun with a mallet during testing in 2022, shattering internal parts so the hammer could not stay in the fully cocked position.
John Bash, Baldwin’s attorney, contended that the testing denied the defense a complete chance to inspect the gun in its original state, pointing out that the examiner did not even disassemble the gun or consider taking pictures of its internal parts before the destructive testing.
“This is among the most egregious constellation of facts I’ve ever seen,” said Bash, a former U.S. Attorney during the Trump administration.
“They knew it would be destroyed, and they did nothing to preserve the evidence for the defendant.”
