NEW YORK — Luigi Mangione sat in court for another pretrial hearing Tuesday, exactly one year after he was arrested in connection with the murder of a health insurance CEO.
Mangione, 27, wore a navy blue suit over a pink-and-white-checkered shirt during the fifth day of an evidence suppression hearing that could have serious implications for his upcoming state murder trial. Mangione is accused of executing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50, outside a Manhattan hotel on Dec. 4, 2024. He also faces a federal murder trial. He has denied all charges against him.
Prosecutors allege Mangione shot the CEO at point-blank range, and left bullet shell casings that read “Deny, Defend, Depose” — apparent tactics that health insurance companies use to deny coverage.
Mangione was arrested five days later, on Dec. 9, after he was spotted eating breakfast at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Altoona police officer Stephen Fox was one of several officers who responded to the scene.
Fox testified Tuesday that he had learned about the New York City shooting from Fox News coverage, and described the killing as “a violent act of cowardice against a defenseless human being.”
Body camera footage played by prosecutors over the course of several days captured the moment Mangione was detained by police at the restaurant as cheery Christmas music played in the background.
Mangione first gave a fake name to officers before giving them his real name. He could be seen calmly putting his hands on a wall to be patted down. In one jacket pocket, Mangione had a jar of peanut butter. In the other, a knife.
“I’m going to remain silent,” Mangione told the officers.
Fox, along with officer Christy Wasser, then searched Mangione’s backpack. Among the items were a 3D-printed 9 mm pistol and a loaded magazine wrapped in wet underwear. Wasser could be seen in the video pulling out the loaded magazine and smiling.
“It’s fucking him, 100%,” Fox replied.
The backpack also contained a Faraday bag — which is used to block electronic signals from escaping — with a phone inside. Wasser previously testified that she had found a red notebook in the backpack, which she described as a “manifesto.”
New York state prosecutors first showed images Monday of the items seized during Mangione’s arrest, which also included SIM cards, a hand-drawn map of Pittsburgh and a note reminding him to “pluck eyebrows,” though it seems Mangione never did.
Mangione’s defense team has argued that the items in the backpack shouldn’t be included in the trial because he was illegally searched and not correctly read his Miranda rights. That would mean the gun found in Mangione’s backpack could not be used against him at the trial — a potentially massive win for the defense.
Before a search of this backpack, Fox quickly told Mangione of his Miranda rights. Defense attorney Karen Agnifilo pointed out that Fox said “98 words in 15 seconds” and also appeared to leave out the end of it, which goes:
“Keeping all of these rights in mind, do you wish to speak to me?”
While Fox didn’t use those words, he did ask if Mangione “wishes to speak to us,” he testified.
Prosecutors, along with the police that arrested Mangione, also argued that the search of his backpack was justified to ensure there was nothing dangerous inside.
“I was afraid that there was an item in that bag that could harm human life,” Fox testified.
Wasser said in her own testimony Monday that she was worried the backpack could have contained explosives, though acknowledged that police never evacuated the McDonald’s.
Judge Gregory Carro will decide whether the disputed evidence can be used at trial following the conclusion of the hearing. Carro is expected to make his ruling in January.
During his arrest, Mangione expressed concern for the McDonald’s employee who called 911.
“He was asking us if we were going to release her name to the press,” Fox testified. “He stated that it would be bad for her if it got released.”
In his incident report, Fox acknowledged that Mangione’s concern for the employee seemed “sincere.”
As Fox drove Mangione to the police station following his arrest, the two listened to music and made some small talk.
“This is a nice town,” Mangione said at one point, Fox testified.
“McDonald’s is a community hub,” Mangione said at another point. The two shared a laugh, Fox testified.
