Celebrities Charged With Manslaughter: Alec Baldwin & Other Stars

By:
January 31, 2023 4:15PM EST

Alec Baldwin has officially been charged with manslaughter for the 2021 death of Halyna Hutchins. Let’s take a look at the celebrities who have faced manslaughter charges.

1 of 11

Stars Charged With Manslaughter: Photos

Stars Charged With Manslaughter: Photos
Erik Pendzich/Shutterstock

We all know celebrities aren’t flawless, but some mistakes are much, much bigger than others. While breaking the law isn’t rare in Hollywood, only a select few actors and musicians have been involved in untimely deaths. And even fewer have actually found themselves charged with manslaughter or murder.

Though there are some celebs who are straight-up killers, other situations have been more ambiguous. We rounded up a list of stars who found themselves charged with manslaughter, that is killing someone “without malice” and premeditation.

Santa Fe, New Mexico authorities announced they were charging Alec Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter on Jan. 19, 2023, in response to the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. The filmmaker was shot and killed after a prop gun accidentally went off on the set of the film Rust in 2021. Prop armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed is facing the same charges, which were officially filed on Jan. 31, 2023.

Ready to learn more about celebrities who were charged with manslaughter? Find everything to know and more here.

January 19, 2023, 11:42AM
2 of 11

Alec Baldwin

Alec Baldwin
Erik Pendzich/Shutterstock

After word charges would be brought against Alec Baldwin, his lawyer offered a statement. It said, “This decision distorts Halyna Hutchins’ tragic death and represents a terrible miscarriage of justice.

“Mr. Baldwin had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun – or anywhere on the movie set. He relied on the professionals with whom he worked, who assured him the gun did not have live rounds. We will fight these charges, and we will win.”

January 19, 2023, 11:42AM
3 of 11

Matthew Broderick

Matthew Broderick
Kristin Callahan/ACE Pictures/Sh

Matthew Broderick was involved in a 1987 car crash in Ireland, which killed a mother and daughter. His then-girlfriend/Dirty Dancing actress Jennifer Grey was his passenger at the time. Matthew was subsequently charged with vehicular manslaughter, but he was eventually convicted of the lesser charge of reckless driving.

January 19, 2023, 11:42AM
4 of 11

Rebecca Gayheart

Rebecca Gayheart
Matt Baron/Shutterstock

Rebecca Gayheart was charged with vehicular manslaughter in 2001, after she struck and killed a nine-year-old boy in 2001. She plead no contest and was sentenced to three years probation, a $2800 fine, a one-year driver’s license suspension, and 750 hours of community service.

Rebecca opened up about the boy’s death in a 2019 interview. “I had a very terrible accident happen,” she shared. “A 9-year-old child died. And, you know, everything changed from that, and, I still have trouble talking about it.”

The star went on to reveal the mental toll the death still takes on her to this day. “I did not cope very well after,” she said. “I just didn’t want to live after that accident. That’s what it came down to. I couldn’t handle it at all. So I spent about a year just trying to kill myself, basically, by doing every self-destructive thing a person can do.

“I just didn’t understand. I didn’t understand any of it. I had led sort of a charmed life up until then, even though I grew up dirt poor … It just turned my world upside down and I lost faith in everything, like, I questioned God, like, ‘Why me? Why Jorge?'”

She went to reflect, “I still have those questions, but today I am able to ponder those questions and still realize that I deserve to be happy and that I am meant to be on this planet and that I have a purpose and I’m making living amends for that even though it was an accident.” Still, she was sympathetic, noting she “can’t imagine what his parents are still feeling like.”

January 19, 2023, 11:44AM
5 of 11

William S. Burroughs

William S. Burroughs
Everett/Shutterstock

Author William S. Burroughs killed his second wife Joan Vollmer in 1951 in Mexico City, in what he initially claimed was a botched stunt. He was convicted of manslaughter in absentia and received a two-year suspended sentence, which was never served.

January 19, 2023, 11:42AM
6 of 11

Vince Neil

Vince Neil
Larry Marano/Shutterstock

Motley Crue rocker Vince Neil was found responsible for the 1984 death of his friend Nicholas “Razzle” Dingley. Two others were gravely injured when he drunkenly crashed into another car head-on in Redondo Beach, California. His blood alcohol content was 0.17 at the time, significantly more than California’s then-legal limit of 0.10.

Vince was sentenced to 30 days in jail, five years probation, $2.6 million in restitution to the victims of the crash, and 200 hours of community service. He was paroled after 15 days for good behavior. After getting out Mötley Crüe dedicated their third studio album, Theatre of Pain, to Razzle.

January 19, 2023, 11:42AM
7 of 11

Charles S. Dutton

Charles S. Dutton
Alex Berliner/BEI/Shutterstock

Charles S. Dutton was just 16 when he got into a knife fight which ended in the death of another man in 1967. The Roc star was sentenced to 5 years in prison, but violated the terms of his parole after being released a year and a half or so later and found himself behind bars agaiin. From there, he became involved with the Black Panther Party and went on to entertainment.

January 19, 2023, 11:42AM
8 of 11

Amy Locane

Amy Locane
Crollalanza/Shutterstock

Amy Locane killed a woman in 2010 in Montgomery, New Jersey. Her BAC was three times the legal limit amd she was driving over 55mph in a 35mph zone.

The Cry Baby star already served two-and-a-half of a three year prison sentence but she was resentenced and sent to prison for eight years starting Sep. 2020. As of 2023, she is still behind bars.

January 19, 2023, 11:42AM
9 of 11

Lane Garrison

Lane Garrison
Victoria Will/Invision/AP/Shutte

Lane Garrison pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter, drunken driving, and providing alcohol to a minor after a December 2006 car crash which killed his 17-year-old passenger Vahagn Setian and injured two other 15-year-old girls. The Prison Break star was 26 at the time.

Lane was sentenced to 40 months in jail on October 31, 2007, in addition to paying $300k restitution for the families. He was released from prison in April 2009 and served four years of parole.

January 19, 2023, 11:42AM
10 of 11

Todd Harrell

Todd Harrell
Owen Sweeney/Shutterstock

Todd Harrell of the band 3 Doors Down was heavily impaired when he caused the death of Nashville, Tennessee’s Paul Howard Shoulders Jr. while speeding and under the influence of opioids. The bassist was charged with vehicular homicide on Apr. 20, 2013.

He was sentenced to two years behind bars and six years of probation in December 2015. In 2018, he was sent back to prison for 10 years after being found in possession of a firearm, which is illegal.

January 19, 2023, 11:42AM
11 of 11

Dr. Conrad Murray

Dr. Conrad Murray
Kevork Djansezian/UPI/Shuttersto

Dr. Conrad Murray became a household name when he was found responsible for Michael Jackson’s 2009 death, which was caused by an overdose of the anesthetic propofol. He plead not guilty, but was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in 2011 for improperly administering the drug. The doctor served two of his four year sentence.

January 19, 2023, 11:42AM