New York Judge to Rule on Evidence in Luigi Mangione Murder Case

The backpack search occurred five days after the December 2024 shooting of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan. Items recovered include a firearm that prosecutors allege was the murder weapon, writings describing an escape route, a fake driver's license, and cash.

Defense attorneys have asked the judge to exclude the evidence, arguing the search violated Mangione's constitutional rights.

Mangione's attorneys stated in a court filing that Altoona officers showed "an utter disregard for a defendant's constitutional rights" during the warrantless search. Prosecutors countered that officers acted reasonably given the circumstances and later obtained a warrant that provided an independent legal basis for the evidence.

U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett previously ruled in January that the same evidence could be used in Mangione's separate federal stalking case, which is scheduled to begin in January 2027. That ruling found the evidence would have been discovered inevitably by law enforcement.

Mangione's state murder trial is set to begin September 8. Prosecutors retain other evidence regardless of Monday's ruling, including surveillance footage of the shooting, fingerprint and DNA evidence, and a phone recovered by police. Mangione has pleaded not guilty to both state and federal charges.