Luigi Mangione returned to court Friday for the fourth day of an evidence suppression hearing in the state case accusing him of murdering United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a New York City sidewalk last year.
Testimony is expected to include two patrol officers from Altoona, Pennsylvania, who were among more than a dozen officers present at the McDonald’s where Mangione was arrested following the shooting. Body camera footage shows Officer Christy Wasser searching Mangione’s backpack and later stating, “there’s a weapon.”
The defense is seeking to exclude the backpack’s contents from trial, arguing that police lacked a warrant and no justification to handle it. During Thursday’s proceedings, defense attorney Jacob Kaplan questioned Officer Tyler Frye, asking if Mangione acted belligerently or tried to open his backpack at the scene. Frye responded, “No” to both questions.
Prosecutors say the backpack contained critical evidence, including a 3D-printed pistol allegedly used to kill Thompson and a notebook in which Mangione reportedly wrote, “The target is insurance. It checks every box.”
The hearing is expected to continue into next week, though the judge on Thursday cautioned both sides that their arguments were “duplicative” and said it was “not helping your case.”