As the one-year anniversary of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s killing approaches, the man accused of murdering him will be back in court this week seeking to suppress key evidence that prosecutors say ties him directly to the crime.
Beginning Monday, 27-year-old Luigi Mangione will appear at a series of hearings in Manhattan Supreme Court as he attempts to block the district attorney’s office from presenting items seized at the time of his arrest in his eventual state murder trial, which has not yet been scheduled.
Among the evidence prosecutors want to show jurors are a 9mm handgun they say matches the weapon used in Thompson’s Dec. 4, 2024, killing, as well as a notebook in which Mangione allegedly wrote about plans to “wack” a health insurance executive.
Mangione previously succeeded in having state terrorism charges dismissed in September. His legal team is now focusing on what they argue was unconstitutional police conduct that tainted the arrest and should render critical evidence unusable at trial.
Defense attorneys argue that officers conducted an unlawful search of the backpack containing the gun and notebook because they did not have a warrant. They are also seeking to suppress certain statements Mangione made to police—including allegedly giving a false name—on the grounds that questioning began before he was informed of his Miranda rights.
If the gun and notebook are excluded, it would deal a significant blow to prosecutors, stripping them of what they consider the likely murder weapon and writings they say reveal Mangione’s motive.
In court filings, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has cited extensively from Mangione’s handwritten diary, which allegedly includes praise for Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber. Prosecutors say the diary contains musings about striking back at the “deadly, greed-fueled health insurance cartel” and a claim that killing an industry executive “conveys a greedy bastard that had it coming.”
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to both state and federal murder charges. The state case carries a potential life sentence, while federal prosecutors are pursuing the death penalty.
Mangione’s attorneys are seeking to bar evidence in both proceedings, though this week’s hearings apply only to the state case. The next federal court hearing is scheduled for January 9.
