FILE – Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the former armorer at the movie “Rust,” listens to closing arguments in her trial at district court, Wednesday, March 6, 2024, in Santa Fe, N.M. Gutierrez-Reed has been incarcerated at a county jail ahead of a scheduled sentencing hearing, Monday, April 15, 2024, on a involuntary manslaughter conviction. SANTA FE, N.M.
Gutierrez-Reed teared up Monday as Hutchins’ agent, Craig Mizrahi, spoke about the cinematographer’s creativity and described her as a rising star in Hollywood. He said it was a chain of events that led to Hutchins’ death and that had the armorer been doing her job, that chain would have been broken.
“It’s the hardest thing to lose a child. There’s no words to describe,” Solovey said in her native language. Defense attorneys have highlighted Gutierrez-Reed’s relatively young age “and the devastating effect a felony will have on her life going forward.” Morrissey told the judge Monday that she reviewed nearly 200 phone calls that Gutierrez-Reed had made from jail over the last month. She said she was hoping there would be a moment when the defendant would take responsibility for what happened or express genuine remorse.
Written testimonials in favor of leniency included letters from Gutierrez-Reed’s childhood friend and romantic partner Sean Kridelbaugh, who said Gutierrez-Reed cries constantly out of remorse in the shooting and that further incarceration would interfere with efforts to care for a relative with cancer. Other friends and former colleagues urged the judge to emphasize rehabilitation over punishment in the sentencing.