A United States court judge on Monday partially granted Luigi Mangione's request to prevent evidence found in his backpack during his arrest from being used at his murder trial. Mangione, 28, is accused of fatally shooting United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a Midtown Manhattan sidewalk in December 2024. The brazen killing drew widespread condemnation from public officials but also highlighted frustrations with health insurance industry practices and rising costs.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty in state court to all charges. His trial is scheduled to begin on September 8 and is expected to last six weeks. The ruling provides a legal boost for Mangione, though prosecutors assert they have ample evidence of his guilt.
Justice Gregory Carro granted Mangione's motion to suppress some evidence found in his backpack during his arrest in Pennsylvania, ruling that police conducted an unlawful warrantless search. The suppressed evidence includes a loaded handgun magazine, a cell phone, and a computer chip.
However, Carro ruled that a subsequent search of the backpack at a police station was lawful, allowing the admission of a gun, silencer, USB drive, and red notebook. The judge also denied Mangione's attempt to suppress his initial statements to law enforcement, rejecting claims of illegal interrogation.
The decision was announced during a brief hearing at a New York state court in Manhattan, with Mangione present. His lawyers argued that the backpack contents and statements should be inadmissible due to an illegal search and failure to inform him of his rights. Prosecutors from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office denied these claims.
In court filings, prosecutors detailed extensive evidence linking Mangione to the killing, including DNA, fingerprints, hundreds of hours of video footage, a cell phone, and another backpack allegedly dropped during his flight from New York. Thompson, who led UnitedHealth Group's health insurance business, was shot and killed on December 4, 2024, outside the Hilton hotel where the company was hosting an investors' meeting.
Mangione was arrested in Pennsylvania after a five-day manhunt and has remained jailed since. State prosecutors initially charged him with terrorism, but Carro dismissed that charge due to insufficient evidence that Mangione's actions aimed to influence public policy. Federal prosecutors separately brought murder, weapons, and stalking charges. The federal judge overseeing that case dismissed the murder and weapons charges on a legal technicality in January, eliminating the possibility of the death penalty. However, Mangione could face life in prison if convicted of stalking.
