NEW YORK (AP) — Luigi Mangione is due back in court on Tuesday for the second day of a hearing in his bid to bar New York prosecutors from using evidence that they say links him to last year’s killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
The pretrial hearing in Mangione’s state murder case kicked off Monday with prosecutors playing surveillance videos of the Dec. 4, 2024, killing and security footage of his arrest five days later at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania.
Mangione, 27, gripped a pen in his right hand, making a fist at times, as prosecutors played the audio of a 911 call from a McDonald’s manager relaying concerns from customers that Mangione looked like the suspect in Thompson’s death.
Mangione’s lawyers are asking Judge Gregory Carro to block prosecutors from showing or telling jurors about items seized from his backpack during his arrest, including a 9 mm handgun that prosecutors say matches the one used in the killing, and a notebook in which they say Mangione described his intent to \u201cwack\u201d a health insurance executive.
The defense contends the items should be excluded because police didn’t have a warrant to search his backpack. They also want to suppress some statements Mangione made to law enforcement personnel, such as allegedly giving a false name, because officers started asking questions before telling him he had a right to remain silent.
Mangione, the Ivy League-educated scion of a wealthy Maryland family, pleaded not guilty to state and federal murder charges. The state charges carry the possibility of life in prison, while federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. Neither trial has been scheduled, and the next hearing in the federal case is scheduled for Jan. 9.
Five witnesses testified on Monday, including a Pennsylvania prison officer who said Mangione told him that at the time of his arrest he had a backpack with foreign currency and a 3D-printed pistol. Another prison officer indicated that Mangione was being monitored closely to avoid a situation likened to Jeffrey Epstein’s earlier jail suicide.
The surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting Thompson from behind as the executive walked to a midtown Manhattan hotel for his company’s annual investor conference. Disturbingly, prosecutors noted phrases written on the ammunition that mimic industry tactics used by insurers to deny claims.
Mangione was arrested as he ate breakfast at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 230 miles west of Manhattan after the restaurant’s manager noted a resemblance to the CEO shooter based on police photos.
A few dozen supporters of Mangione attended the hearing, demonstrating the emotional intensity and community response surrounding the case. Court officials have indicated that the hearing could continue for over a week.
The pretrial hearing in Mangione’s state murder case kicked off Monday with prosecutors playing surveillance videos of the Dec. 4, 2024, killing and security footage of his arrest five days later at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania.
Mangione, 27, gripped a pen in his right hand, making a fist at times, as prosecutors played the audio of a 911 call from a McDonald’s manager relaying concerns from customers that Mangione looked like the suspect in Thompson’s death.
Mangione’s lawyers are asking Judge Gregory Carro to block prosecutors from showing or telling jurors about items seized from his backpack during his arrest, including a 9 mm handgun that prosecutors say matches the one used in the killing, and a notebook in which they say Mangione described his intent to \u201cwack\u201d a health insurance executive.
The defense contends the items should be excluded because police didn’t have a warrant to search his backpack. They also want to suppress some statements Mangione made to law enforcement personnel, such as allegedly giving a false name, because officers started asking questions before telling him he had a right to remain silent.
Mangione, the Ivy League-educated scion of a wealthy Maryland family, pleaded not guilty to state and federal murder charges. The state charges carry the possibility of life in prison, while federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. Neither trial has been scheduled, and the next hearing in the federal case is scheduled for Jan. 9.
Five witnesses testified on Monday, including a Pennsylvania prison officer who said Mangione told him that at the time of his arrest he had a backpack with foreign currency and a 3D-printed pistol. Another prison officer indicated that Mangione was being monitored closely to avoid a situation likened to Jeffrey Epstein’s earlier jail suicide.
The surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting Thompson from behind as the executive walked to a midtown Manhattan hotel for his company’s annual investor conference. Disturbingly, prosecutors noted phrases written on the ammunition that mimic industry tactics used by insurers to deny claims.
Mangione was arrested as he ate breakfast at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 230 miles west of Manhattan after the restaurant’s manager noted a resemblance to the CEO shooter based on police photos.
A few dozen supporters of Mangione attended the hearing, demonstrating the emotional intensity and community response surrounding the case. Court officials have indicated that the hearing could continue for over a week.
