Luigi Mangione Pretrial Hearing: Battle Over Gun, Notebook Evidence in High‑Profile Murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson

The criminal case against Luigi Mangione, the 27‑year‑old accused of assassinating UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, returned to center stage in New York City today as a Manhattan judge began pivotal pretrial hearings that could reshape what jurors ultimately see and hear at trial. One year after Thompson was gunned down outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel hosting a major investor conference, Mangione was back in state court seeking to suppress key evidence seized during his arrest in Pennsylvania.

At issue are a 9 mm handgun, ammunition and a notebook that prosecutors say detail Mangione’s intent to “wack” a health insurance executive, along with a 3‑D printed gun, a silencer and other items taken from his backpack when he was captured at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania after a multi‑day manhunt. Defense lawyers argue police searched the bag without a warrant, violated his rights and failed to properly advise him of his ability to remain silent and seek counsel, making the evidence unconstitutional and unusable at trial. Prosecutors counter that the search and questioning were legal and that the items form the backbone of their case.

Inside the Manhattan courtroom, Mangione appeared in cuffs but sharply dressed in a gray suit, taking notes and occasionally smiling as lawyers debated whether the alleged murder weapon and his writings could be shown to a future jury. The hearing, overseen by Judge Gregory Carro, is expected to run several days and follows Carro’s earlier decision to toss New York state terrorism counts while allowing a second‑degree murder charge and other counts to proceed. That ruling narrowed, but did not defuse, a case that blends criminal law, politics and a national debate over skyrocketing health‑care costs.

Today’s arguments also unfold against the backdrop of a separate federal case in which the U.S. Justice Department is weighing — and, according to officials, preparing to pursue — the death penalty. In federal court, Mangione faces charges including murder through the use of a firearm and stalking; a conviction there could bring capital punishment even as New York’s proceedings carry a maximum of life in prison without parole. The unusual overlap of state and federal prosecutions, along with Mangione’s evolving image among some critics of big insurers as a symbol of rage at denied claims and towering bills, has turned a single midtown shooting into one of the most closely watched crime stories in American health‑care and corporate life.