Judge says he'll rule in May on Luigi Mangione’s fight to exclude evidence
Luigi Mangione back in court as judge hopes to end hearing this week
Luigi Mangione is back in a Manhattan courtroom Thursday as the weeks-long pretrial hearing over evidence in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson approaches what the judge hopes will be its final stretch.
NEW YORK - Luigi Mangione appeared back in a Manhattan courtroom Thursday as the weeks-long pretrial hearing over evidence in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson reached its final stretch.
What we know:
Arguments in the pretrial hearing for Mangione concluded after prosecutors declined to call additional witnesses and the defense rested.
The judge set a May 18 decision date and ordered remaining filings due between Jan. 29 and March 5 as parties discuss potential trial scheduling.
What's next:
The suppression hearing applies only to the state case.
A federal judge will consider the admissibility of the same evidence at a separate hearing on Jan. 9, where prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
Judge Carro will issue his decision.
Mangione, 27, has pleaded not guilty to state and federal murder charges in Thompson’s Dec. 4, 2024 death.
Credit: Manhattan DA's office
The hearing will determine whether jurors can see items seized during Mangione’s arrest in Altoona, Pennsylvania — including a 9 mm handgun and a notebook prosecutors say outline his intent to kill a health-care executive.
What’s happened today?
Luigi Mangione during a pretrial hearing at New York State Supreme Court in New York, US, on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025. Mangione faces state and federal charges in the killing nearly a year ago of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Photographer: Curt
Arguments in the pretrial hearing for Luigi Mangione concluded Thursday morning after prosecutors declined to call additional witnesses and the defense rested.
Mangione’s lawyers continue to argue that police violated his constitutional rights by opening his backpack without a warrant and by questioning him before reading him his Miranda rights.
What happened Tuesday?
Luigi Mangione, center, during a pretrial hearing at New York State Supreme Court in New York, US, on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025. Mangione faces state and federal charges in the killing nearly a year ago of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Photograp
Testimony Tuesday centered on how evidence was handled and transported after Mangione’s arrest on Dec. 9, 2024. He was taken into custody after customers at a McDonald’s in Altoona reported that a man inside "looked like the CEO shooter from New York," noting his distinctive eyebrows.
Three witnesses testified:
- Officer George Featherstone, the Altoona police department’s evidence custodian, said he logged items taken from Mangione and sealed them in labeled evidence bags before turning them over to the NYPD.
- NYPD Lt. David Leonardi, commanding officer of the homicide squad investigating Thompson’s killing, testified he instructed Altoona police not to speak with Mangione and to hold all property. Leonardi said he drove to Pennsylvania with detectives and personally transported the evidence back to Manhattan for testing.
- Investigative Analyst Anissa Weisel described a timeline she created of Mangione’s arrest and the events surrounding it. Defense attorneys argued it omitted key details. Judge Carro allowed it only as an internal reference to help him review video and other materials.
Prosecutors say the seized handgun matches the weapon used to kill Thompson and that the notebook contains similar handwriting to documents outlining a plan to "wack" a health-insurance executive.
The Source: This report is based on information from the Associated Press.