Luigi Mangione, the 27-year-old accused of killing United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a Manhattan street last December, appeared in court on Monday as his lawyers launched an aggressive effort to exclude several pieces of evidence central to the prosecution’s case.
Mangione, who has pleaded not guilty to both state and federal murder charges, the latter carrying a potential death penalty, is facing a multi-day pre-trial hearing focused on the legality of his arrest and the evidence collected afterward.
He was taken into custody in Altoona, Pennsylvania, days after Thompson, a father of two, was fatally shot while arriving at an investors’ conference on 4 December 2024.
The defence is seeking to suppress statements Mangione made after his arrest, including allegedly providing police with a false name before being informed of his Miranda rights.
His lawyers are also pushing to exclude a 9mm handgun that prosecutors say matches the murder weapon, along with a notebook found in his backpack in which he allegedly wrote about “the deadly, greed-fueled health insurance cartel.”
Defence attorneys argue the backpack search was conducted without a warrant and therefore violated constitutional protections. Prosecutors counter that the circumstances, a multistate manhunt for a suspect in a high-profile, daylight killing, allowed officers to search Mangione and his belongings without prior judicial approval.
Legal analysts say the defence faces steep odds. New York criminal attorney Dmitriy Shakhnevich described the chances of the evidence being thrown out as “virtually non-existent,” noting broad exceptions permitting warrantless searches in situations involving dangerous fugitives.
“When they get him, they’re going to search him,” he said.
Prosecutors told the court they also possess other incriminating evidence, including DNA or fingerprints found on items discarded near the crime scene.
Monday’s proceedings opened with testimony from NYPD Sgt Chris McLaughlin, who reviewed surveillance footage after the shooting. Prosecutors also played CCTV of the attack itself.
A McDonald’s employee from Altoona testified about recognising Mangione from online images after customers alerted her to a suspicious patron wearing a hat and face mask. The court also heard the 911 call she placed as officers moved in to arrest him.
A correctional officer from the Pennsylvania jail where Mangione was held testified that the defendant appeared “unbothered and logical” in custody. He said Mangione was placed under heightened security to prevent an “Epstein-style situation,” referring to the 2019 suicide of Jeffrey Epstein in federal detention.
Shakhnevich noted that suppression hearings often serve another critical purpose for the defence: previewing law-enforcement testimony ahead of trial and locking witnesses into their accounts. “You get to bind them to testimony for a trial later on,” he said.
Mangione’s legal team is also fighting to bar federal prosecutors from seeking the death penalty, arguing that public comments from senior officials, including Attorney General Pam Bondi, have politicised the case and tainted potential jurors.
No trial date has been set in either the state or federal proceedings, and this week’s evidentiary hearing is expected to continue with additional witnesses from New York and Pennsylvania.
Source: BBC
Written By Rodney Mbua
