JAN MOIR: Their bodies pressed close, their heads together, the very private moment I witnessed in a quiet corridor that reveals how Alec Baldwin clung to his wife for support

If Alec Baldwin was looking for omens connected nan eve of his manslaughter trial, location were plentifulness to beryllium found.

On nan nighttime earlier nan State v Alexander Rae Baldwin lawsuit began successful nan Santa Fe courthouse, a thunderstorm swept done town, pinch dense rainfall sluicing done nan dusty streets and lightning flashing crossed an angry purple sky.

The pursuing night, a powerfulness outage plunged nan downtown area into acheronian for complete 2 hours. At this clip of twelvemonth successful New Mexico, authorities pass everyone to beryllium monsoon-aware and fresh for what locals telephone downburst winds — but really could Alec Baldwin perchance hole for nan tornado that has barrelled done his life?

The Emmy award-winning character had been charged pinch involuntary manslaughter complete his domiciled successful nan fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins connected nan group of his occidental film, Rust. The incident happened successful October 2021, erstwhile formed and unit were rehearsing connected nan Bonanza Creek movie ranch, astir 20 miles southbound of Santa Fe.

A weapon held by Baldwin went disconnected — he claims he did not propulsion nan trigger — and nan unrecorded bullet, mistakenly loaded alternatively of a dummy aliases a blank, killed Hutchins and injured head Joel Souza.

Yesterday nan lawsuit against him was sensationally dismissed midway done nan proceedings aft nan judge said location had been errors by nan prosecution successful nan handling of grounds that 'impacted nan basal fairness of nan case'.

Prior to this bombshell, done a agelong week successful tribunal — during litigation, assemblage action and yet opening statements connected Wednesday — Baldwin had presented himself arsenic nan guiltless accused, nan earnest suspect successful a smart suit and tie.

However, he's not going to triumph immoderate Emmys for this performance. Perhaps it is nan 66-year-old actor's bad luck that his resting look often folded into an unfortunate quasi-sneer and that his mill mounting of tetchy diffidence was difficult to disguise. Perhaps it was his deficiency of familiarity pinch tribunal proceedings that made him get up connected Thursday day and conscionable locomotion retired of nan courtroom successful nan mediate of nan proceedings — to nan astonishment of his ain ineligible squad — only to return a short while later pinch a cup of coffee.

Baldwin's abrupt exit came arsenic nan prosecution were outlining grounds revealing that conscionable hours aft nan fatal shooting, he told his woman Hilaria to transportation connected pinch arrangements to bring their young family to New Mexico for a holiday. In a FaceTime telephone made erstwhile he was being interviewed by constabulary officers, he promised a 'good time' and added that they wouldn't get their money backmost for nan flights anyway.

It's not each man who tin beryllium truthful pragmatic and fiscally alert successful nan mediate of a tragedy. Especially a man who wrote successful Nevertheless, his 2017 memoir: 'I person an supra mean empathy for different people's feelings.'

More eyebrows were raised this week erstwhile nan mates and 2 of their children went shopping successful downtown Santa Fe, wherever Alec cheerfully signed autographs for fans successful a java shop. Was this due behaviour for nan accused successful nan mediate of his criminal trial? Or would hiding distant person been seen arsenic an admittance of shame and guilt?

It is nary concealed that nan Baldwins person signed up to make a TLC reality tv show pinch their 7 young children. This gives emergence to nan suspicion that each nationalist outing pinch nan kids is now a strategical ploy, an orchestrated pageant designed to tickle liking and pull viewers — moreover if they really are conscionable different family popping retired for an crystal cream.

The irony is, Alec and Hilaria are doing nan show retired of necessity — now that his occupation offers person dried up, they request nan money. For a start, nan apical lawyers connected his elite ineligible squad complaint astatine slightest £1,500 an hr — each.

And aft years of being hounded by nan paparazzi, it would beryllium understandable if The Baldwins was a basal evil for nan Baldwins. Having cameras successful nan sanctity of their location must beryllium nan past point connected world they wanted to do.

In nan contiguous aftermath of nan Hutchins shooting, Alec took a precious infinitesimal to deliberation only of himself and said: 'I don't want to do this immoderate more, I don't want to beryllium a nationalist person.' And while Hilaria whitethorn beryllium a personage mumfluencer pinch astir a cardinal followers connected Instagram, a female who erstwhile filmed herself wearing lacy lingerie to denote she'd conscionable had a miscarriage, she needs her privacy, too.

Especially aft publically presenting herself arsenic having Spanish practice for years earlier it turned retired she had thing of nan sort. Hilaria was really Hilary from Boston; not Spanish but Spanish 'adjacent'.

In nan trailers for nan caller reality show, she has moreover dropped her clone Spanish accent, ay caramba.

During nan trial, nan Baldwins were staying astatine nan Eldorado edifice successful Santa Fe, by nary intends nan champion aliases astir costly successful town, but it does person a statesmanlike suite, a rooftop excavation and a spa offering a £175 Kansa Wand Facial, which promises to patient your complexion utilizing a massage wand made from copper and zinc.

As nan Alec and Hilaria show rolled connected successful Santa Fe earlier nan lawsuit was dropped, they were some giving it each to person nan judge, assemblage and an full municipality that they are bully people.

Every time this week, Hilaria had climbed aboard her towering heels, slipped into a powerfulness suit and accompanied her hubby to court. As nan week progressed, she became progressively tactile during breaks, stepping crossed nan tribunal to swipe her husband's shoulders and changeable his look successful a mode that tin only beryllium described arsenic curdled Markle-esque — looking astatine Alec, pinch his eyes pouched pinch accent and his ravaged look sometimes making him look for illustration a bulldog that's been done a boil wash. He lapped it up. And he needed each nan comfortableness he could get, because nan truth is that location was scant sympathy for his plight here.

Take Bill Roney, who has been successful nan firearms waste and acquisition for 52 years and owns The Outdoorsman weapon shop successful nan DeVargas Center shopping mall. 'That's a bunch of baloney,' he said, of Baldwin's declare that nan weapon went disconnected itself.

Roney sells guns of each shapes and sizes, including ancient and modern rifles, revolvers and semi-automatics. When he started successful nan business, group would bargain guns chiefly for backcountry crippled hunting, now he says it's mostly for individual protection. His shop features stuffed stag trophies connected nan walls and a female adjunct wearing a motto T-shirt that reads: 'I find Your Lack of Ammo Disturbing.'

As a Brit, I find this somewhat overseas — a weapon shop other a boutique and adjacent a nail barroom — but it would not person seemed unusual to nan assemblage who were sworn successful connected Tuesday. All of them lived successful a region pinch beardown links to weapon ownership, while Santa Fe itself (pop. 90,000) has 4 weapon shops, a weapon conception successful nan section Walmart, 1 firearms academy and 1 weapon coaching business called The Mindful Shooter.

During nan assemblage action process, nan ineligible teams quizzed prospective jurors connected their opinions astir weapon safety. 'Treat each weapon arsenic a loaded gun,' was nan consensus.Don't forget, we are heavy successful cowboy state here, successful a erstwhile frontier onshore wherever nan beingness of nan aged Wild West is still keenly felt. Less than 200 years agone nan Apache bid pact was signed successful town, while Billy nan Kid was erstwhile held successful Santa Fe jailhouse for 90 days earlier going connected proceedings himself for murder. There is simply a plaque successful his honour other nan Baldwins' hotel, which is poignant because his was nan first ever personage proceedings successful New Mexico. One 100 and forty-three years later, Alec Baldwin's was nan second. Then and now nan locals don't return kindly to outsiders waving guns around, particularly if they fishy they don't cognize what they are doing.

And while immoderate gun-savvy Santafeans spot Baldwin's behaviour connected group arsenic reckless, location are others who laic nan blasted for nan decease of Hutchins squarely connected Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, 27, nan armourer connected nan Rust group who is already serving an 18-month jailhouse condemnation for her domiciled successful nan shooting.

She was responsible for weapon information and has ne'er been capable to explicate really nan unrecorded ammunition recovered its measurement into Baldwin's gun, which she allegedly loaded earlier nan fatal rehearsal. Whether he should person checked it himself earlier pointing it astatine Hutchins, aliases simply trusted Gutierrez-Reed to do her job, was 1 of nan cardinal questions astatine nan bosom of this case.

In an unrelated incident conscionable earlier nan tragedy, Gutierrez-Reed was cautioned by nan constabulary for taking a weapon into nan Matador, a punk euphony dive barroom successful Santa Fe.

'She wasn't a regular here,' a barmaid pinch a 2ft Mohican hairstyle told maine connected Thursday.

In nan dimly lit dump pinch its graffitied walls, you person to wonderment why a young female would consequence truthful overmuch to transportation a loaded limb into a spot for illustration this, wherever nan only threat is an receptor bleed from nan deafening music.

Earlier yesterday, earlier nan lawsuit was sensationally dropped, it was business arsenic accustomed backmost successful court. Baldwin's defence lawyers had made yet different effort to person nan lawsuit dismissed, accusing nan prosecution of burying evidence.

Prosecutor Kari Morrissey dismissed this arsenic 'a chaotic goose chase' while Judge Sommer looked on, wearied. At nan defence table, Baldwin made notes and consulted his iPad successful a time of bitter recriminations and ineligible chaos.

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed herself was due, adjacent week, to person been called by nan prosecution to springiness grounds against her erstwhile leader It would person been an absorbing moment, fixed that nan past clip they met was connected nan Rust set, successful those acold disconnected days earlier nan nightmare began.

Back then, Hutchins nan cinematographer, Gutierrez-Reed nan armourer and Baldwin nan character were each imaginative spirits agreed successful nan noble communal intent of making movie magic. Now Halyna is dead, Hannah is successful situation and Alex was connected trial.

From her spot successful nan nationalist benches straight down Baldwin, Hilaria's support for her beleaguered hubby ne'er wavered.

In her grey trouser suit, hoop earrings and trademark vertiginous heels, she remained a one-woman cleanable large wind of affirmative energy, moreover if location were moments erstwhile she looks gaunt.

During a break successful nan proceedings earlier successful nan week, I watched Alec and Hilaria locomotion on a quiet corridor successful nan courthouse, their bodies pressed close, their heads together, for a infinitesimal oblivious to everything isolated from each other.

She was making ample information pats connected his back, nan benignant you springiness to a colicky baby, while talking soothingly successful his ear. Then they walked backmost into nan courtroom manus successful hand. You tin spot what a tremendous building of spot she is to him, really overmuch he depended connected her and really utterly resolute she has been successful nan look of this calamity visited upon her family.

She's sewage 7 children nether nan property of 10 and a hubby who has seen his income watercourse participate a play of drought, which is perchance terminal contempt yesterday's dismissal of nan case. They've had to waste their large house, tailor their dreams and downsize their plans for nan future.

You could reason they person not suffered arsenic overmuch arsenic Halyna Hutchins's family. Yet arsenic Bill Roney from The Outdoorsman said: 'Somebody really messed up. But this is simply a calamity for everyone, including Alec Baldwin.' However, travel what may, Mrs Baldwin is not going to buckle. And you person to respect her for that.

n Additional reporting: Barbara McMahon