Luigi Mangione, the 27-year-old American man accused of killing a health insurance company executive in a brazen attack that sparked a national debate, has appeared in court as his lawyers seek to have his diary entries and other key evidence tossed from his state murder case.
He entered the New York courtroom through a side door on Monday (Tuesday AEDT) with his hands shackled, wearing a dark gray suit jacket. A court officer unshackled his hands as he reached the defence table.
Mangione was arrested at a McDonald's restaurant in Pennsylvania following a days-long manhunt after United Healthcare chief executive Brian Thompson, 50, was fatally shot on December 4, 2024, on a busy pavement in Manhattan.
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During the arrest, law enforcement officers recovered several pieces of evidence from Mangione's backpack that authorities say tie him to the killing.
Mangione's lawyers argue police illegally searched his bag without a warrant, so that evidence should be barred from the state's case. Prosecutors denied the defence's claims and agreed to a hearing on the matter.
Mangione's defence team is battling prosecutors in two cases: Lawyers in his federal death penalty case also are trying to get much of the same evidence tossed. That case returns to court in January.
The hearing over the disputed evidence in the state case is expected to last several days, with both parties planning to call witnesses to testify, according to court documents.
In Monday's hearing, prosecutors showed the full surveillance video of Thompson being shot in front of a hotel, stumbling to the side before falling to the ground. They also played surveillance video inside the McDonald's as two officers first approached Mangione, with at least six more later joining them in the restaurant.
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As the videos played, Mangione appeared to watch them from the defence table, one finger resting on his chin.
The prosecution also played an emergency call made by the manager of McDonald's.
"I have a customer here that some other customers were suspicious of and he looks like the CEO shooter from New York," the manager is heard saying.
"So they're really upset, and they've come to me."
The caller stated the man was wearing a black jacket, medical mask and a tan beanie.
"The only thing you can see is his eyebrows," she said.
Mangione showed no visible signs of resistance in the surveillance video, which did not include audio.
Next to him is a backpack where police say they found writings they have described as a "manifesto" for the shooting.
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At one point, defence lawyer Karen Friedman-Agnifilo asked a police officer if anyone received the $US10,000 CrimeStoppers reward in the investigation, but Judge Gregory Carro sustained an objection from prosecutors.
In earlier court filings, Friedman-Agnifilo asked Carro to prevent the prosecution from showing the contents of Mangione's writings at the hearing, saying they could taint the jury pool.
She objected to the prosecution's use of the term "manifesto," calling it a "prejudicial, invented law-enforcement label."
She also asked the judge to allow at least one of Mangione's hands to be unshackled during the hearing so he can take notes.
In September, Carro dismissed the top two charges against Mangione – murder in the first degree in furtherance of an act of terrorism and murder in the second degree as a crime of terrorism – after he found the evidence had not established Mangione committed a terroristic act.
Mangione still faces nine charges in the state case, and the separate federal death penalty prosecution. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Key pieces of evidence seized
During Mangione's arrest last December, authorities seized several items from his backpack, including a handgun, a loaded magazine, and a notebook with handwritten entries – key pieces of evidence that prosecutors allege connect Mangione to the killing.
The recovered gun lines up with ballistic evidence from the Manhattan crime scene, prosecutors said in court documents.
Authorities have called the writings in the notebook a "manifesto," pointing to sections that detail his frustration with the healthcare industry and his intent to carry out an attack. Prosecutors said the entries "establish his responsibility for this vicious crime."
In a court filing, Friedman-Agnifilo argued the writings and all the items recovered from the backpack should not be admissible since police illegally searched the bag without a warrant, and there was no immediate threat to justify a warrantless search.
Prosecutors can overcome the challenge if they can prove the evidence would have inevitably been discovered legally during the course of the investigation.
Even if the judge rules in favour of Mangione, prosecutors still have evidence of his DNA or fingerprints on several items discarded by the shooter near the crime scene, according to court documents.
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