Luigi Mangione pretrial hearing ends: full recap, photos and what's next
A marathon pretrial hearing for Luigi Mangione in New York concluded Thursday without additional witness testimony or evidence in the high-profile murder case.
Mangione, who has pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, appeared in a navy suit and white shirt for day 9 of the critical evidence suppression hearing before Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Gregory Carro, who said he intends to issue a ruling on May 18.
Carro also instructed attorneys for Mangione, 27, to submit filings detailing their arguments by January 29, while prosecutors have until March 5.
Prosecutors did not call additional witnesses Thursday after nearly 20 testified throughout three weeks, including several police officers involved in Mangione’s arrest at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on December 9, 2024—five days after Thompson, 50, was fatally shot as he attended an early-morning conference in Manhattan.
Attorneys for Mangione, who want to block evidence seized during his arrest, including a handgun that allegedly matches the weapon used to kill Thompson, rested their case without calling any witnesses.
"The defense rests," attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo told Carro.
The judge said he'll issue his decision in May regarding what evidence to exclude, if any, as well as to set a trial date in New York for Mangione. Prosecutor Joel Seidemann pushed Carro to set a date on Thursday, noting that Thompson's 77-year-old mother is awaiting a conclusion in the case, ABC News reported.
Seventeen witnesses testified during the lengthy evidence suppression hearing, including Altoona police Lt. William Hanelly, who said he initially believed it was highly unlikely Mangione would be in the Pennsylvania town since a significant portion of 911 calls are made by people with mental illness. But Hanelly texted another officer to treat the call seriously, adding that he'd buy him a sandwich if the suspect at a nearby McDonald's proved to be the gunman sought in New York.
"We're acting off a tip from a local business here," Hanelly said on a recording played in court last week. "We might have the shooter."
Portions of body-worn camera footage of Mangione's arrest were also shown during the proceedings, with one clip depicting an officer approaching Mangione while eating breakfast in a corner of a McDonald's before providing a fake name of Mark Rosario. Another video showed Thompson falling against the side of a hotel after being shot and the suspect calmly walking by the mortally wounded CEO.
Prosecutors also played audio of several 911 calls linked to Mangione being taken into custody, including one made by a manager at the McDonald's who told dispatchers that customers believed a man inside the restaurant resembled the suspect wanted in Thompson's slaying.
Multiple customers believed the man in a black jacket, tan knit hat and a medical mask looked like the "CEO shooter from New York, the manager said during the call, which prompted police to respond to the fast-food restaurant.
A trove of evidence released by prosecutors throughout the proceedings included a handwritten to-do list recovered from Mangione's pocket during his arrest, as well as his backpack, which prosecutors say contained the handgun used to kill Thompson, ammunition, fake identification and a red notebook outlining his manifesto.
Mangione also had a pocketknife, zip ties, a large amount of cash, bus tickets and a map he drew of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, roughly 100 miles west from where he was arrested in Altoona, as well as other nearby cities.
"Ideally, to Columbus or ," the note read, which also included a notation to "keep momentum, FBI slower overnight."
Another note dated "12/5” served as a reminder for Mangione to buy black shorts, change his hat and to "pluck eyebrows," prosecutors said.
Attorneys for Mangione, meanwhile, noted in court that their client wasn't read his Miranda rights until 19 minutes after officers initially approached him. The officers testified they thought Mangione matched the description of the New York suspect and tried to confirm his identity without causing alarm since they were under a "high level of threat," ABC News reported.
Altoona Police Officer Stephen Fox, who testified last week, said he had learned about Thompson's murder on national newscasts.
"I knew it was a violent act of cowardice that targeted a defenseless human being," Fox testified.
Fox's characterization prompted Mangione to shake his head while seated near his attorneys. The officer also cited the "large media presence" outside a courthouse in Blair County, where he transported Mangione to be arraigned following his arrest.
"Mr. Mangione looked back at all the reporters and stated, 'All these people here for a mass murderer? Wild," Fox testified.
Mangione, who was shackled at the time, also tripped as he walked with Fox, the officer recalled.
"It’s OK, I’m going to have to get used to it," Mangione replied, according to Fox’s testimony.
Earlier this week, Altoona Police Officer George Featherstone, the department's evidence custodian, told the court Tuesday that he logged items recovered during Mangione's arrest and later gave them to NYPD officials.
NYPD Lt. David Leonardi, who led the detective squad investigating Thompson's murder, also testified that he provided instructions to his counterparts in Altoona before leaving New York.
"I would like no one to speak to him and all of the property held," Leonardi testified, adding that he drove to Altoona and then back to Manhattan to deliver the evidence to the NYPD's crime lab.
Friedman Agnifilo, one of Mangione's attorneys, said she had expected an NYPD detective to testify Friday, but he wasn't called by prosecutors. She wanted to question the police official regarding a statement she claims Mangione never made, CBS News reported.
"They relied on a statement made by his mother that she said she could see him doing something like this," she told reporters following the hearing. "That's an absolutely false statement that was never said."
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office declined to comment, according to CBS News.
Mangione, who remains held without bail at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, faces up to life in prison if convicted of Thompson's killing in New York. He also faces a separate federal murder charge in federal court in which prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
A hearing in Mangione's federal case is scheduled for January 9.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.