Judge Rules Gun and Notebook Evidence Admissible in Mangione Trial

A New York judge ruled Monday that a gun and notebook prosecutors say link Luigi Mangione to the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson can be used as evidence at his upcoming murder trial. The decision by State Supreme Court Justice Gregory Carro also suppressed other evidence found in Mangione’s backpack during his arrest, marking a mixed outcome in a key pretrial hearing.

Mangione, 28, is accused of shooting Thompson from behind on a Midtown Manhattan sidewalk on December 4, 2024. Thompson was walking to an investor conference at the New York Hilton Midtown at the time. Following a five-day manhunt, Mangione was arrested on December 9, 2024, at a McDonald’s restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania.

Justice Carro ruled that the initial warrantless search of Mangione’s backpack at the restaurant was improper. As a result, evidence recovered during that search, including a loaded gun magazine, a cellphone, a passport, a wallet, and a computer chip, will be inadmissible at trial. The judge stated that prosecutors did not demonstrate an urgent public safety need to justify the warrantless search.

However, Carro determined that a subsequent search of the backpack at the Altoona...