Luigi Mangione's Pretrial Hearing Concludes with Evidence Ruling Pending

Fri Dec 19 2025 03:31:07 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

The pretrial hearing for Luigi Mangione, accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, concluded with a judge set to rule on evidence admissibility in May. Prosecutors have presented significant testimonies, while Mangione aims to exclude items found in his backpack.

Luigi Mangione's pretrial hearing for the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has concluded. Prosecutors rested their case after presenting nearly 20 witnesses, while Mangione's defense seeks to exclude crucial evidence, including a gun and notebook found in his backpack. The judge will deliver a ruling on May 18 regarding the admissibility of this evidence.

NEW YORK (RTW News) — The pretrial hearing of Luigi Mangione, who stands accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare’s CEO Brian Thompson, drew to a close on Thursday. A judge announced he will issue his ruling in May on which evidence the prosecutors can present in their upcoming trial against Mangione.

During the three-week hearing, prosecutors called upon nearly 20 witnesses, many of whom were police officers involved in Mangione's arrest in December 2024 in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Notably, Mangione's legal team refrained from calling any witnesses for his defense, focusing instead on challenging the evidence put forth.

Judge Carro has given Mangione's defense until January 29, 2025, to submit their written arguments, while the prosecution has until March 5 to respond. The final decision from the judge is expected on May 18, 2025.

Mangione, now 27, is contesting the inclusion of crucial pieces of evidence, including a handgun and a notebook discovered in his backpack, which the prosecutors claim link him directly to Thompson's shooting on December 4, 2024, in Manhattan. The firearm in question is said to correspond to the one used in the lethal incident, while the notebook allegedly contains entries confirming his intent to target a health insurance executive.

His lawyers argue that the evidence should be dismissed, maintaining that the police lacked a search warrant and did not possess adequate justification for conducting a warrantless search of Mangione's belongings.

According to the prosecution, the search was lawful since it occurred during an arrest, with officers ensuring the absence of any potentially harmful items inside the bag. They later procured a warrant for a thorough search of Mangione's belongings.

Mangione has pleaded not guilty to murder charges at both the state and federal levels. Notably, this pretrial hearing pertains solely to the state case, while a similar motion is underway in federal court, where prosecutors aim to implement the death penalty.

The arrest of Mangione, following a tip-off from customers at a local McDonald's, has attracted significant media attention. Witnesses at the restaurant, located roughly 230 miles west of Manhattan, stated they believed he resembled the suspect sought for Thompson’s murder.