After three weeks of intense testimony, the high-profile pre-trial hearing for Luigi Mangione, the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, has concluded in New York. But as the courtroom doors closed Thursday, the wait for a pivotal decision began: Judge Gregory Carro announced he would not rule on what evidence can be used in Mangione’s upcoming murder trial until May 18, 2026, leaving prosecutors, defense attorneys, and the public in suspense.
The marathon hearing, held in Manhattan Supreme Court, was convened to determine whether key pieces of evidence—including a gun, a notebook described as a "manifesto," and Mangione’s own statements to police and jail guards—can be admitted at trial. According to The Associated Press and The New York Post, the evidence in question was seized during Mangione’s dramatic arrest in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on December 9, 2024, just five days after Thompson’s execution-style shooting on a Midtown Manhattan street.
The arrest itself unfolded with a mix of tension and surreal normalcy. Police body-camera footage, played in court for the first time, showed Mangione eating breakfast at a McDonald’s as Christmas music played in the background. According to The Associated Press, the footage captured officers approaching Mangione, initially skeptical of the tip, and then asking him to pull down his mask. Their suspicions were quickly confirmed when a search of his backpack revealed a loaded gun magazine wrapped in underwear—an item prosecutors say matches the weapon used in the CEO’s killing.
The tip that led to Mangione’s arrest came from the McDonald’s manager, who called 911 after customers expressed concern that a man in the restaurant looked like "the CEO shooter from New York." The manager, as reported by The Associated Press, told the dispatcher, “I have a customer here that some other customers were suspicious of that he looks like the CEO shooter from New York. They’re just really upset and they’re like coming to me and I was like, ‘Well, I can’t approach them, you know.’” She described Mangione as wearing a medical mask and a beanie, with only his eyes and eyebrows visible.
Patrolman Joseph Detwiler, the first to respond, admitted he was initially dubious about the tip, even joking with a supervisor about the odds of catching a high-profile fugitive in Altoona, a city of about 44,000 people. But, as Lt. Tom Hanelly testified, once the situation became clear, officers moved quickly—motivated, in part, by Hanelly’s joking promise to buy Detwiler a hoagie if he caught “the New York City shooter.”
During the arrest, Mangione provided officers with a fake name—Mark Rosario—and a phony New Jersey driver’s license. According to testimony reported by The Associated Press, Mangione eventually admitted the ruse after officers ran the ID and found no match. “If he had provided us with his actual name, he would not have committed a crime,” officer Stephen Fox testified. The use of the alias was not random: an NYPD lieutenant testified that the name matched one used by the suspected shooter to buy a bus ticket to New York and check into a Manhattan hostel.
The search of Mangione’s backpack became a central point of contention during the hearing. Prosecutors argued that Altoona police were justified in searching the property of an arrestee, citing department policy and Pennsylvania law. Sgt. Christy Wasser, who searched the bag, testified she was checking for a bomb, but Mangione’s lawyers pointed out that police did not clear the restaurant and stopped their initial search almost immediately after finding the loaded magazine. The defense insists the search violated Mangione’s rights, and that any evidence obtained—including the gun, notebook, and other items—should be excluded from trial.
Among the contents of Mangione’s backpack, officers found not only the gun and magazine but also a notebook prosecutors described as a "manifesto," a pocket knife, fake identification, a passport, credit cards, AirPods, a protein bar, travel toothpaste, flash drives, and handwritten notes about survival tactics and travel plans. Sgt. Eric Heuston called them “goodies” that might connect Mangione to the killing. One note read, “Keep momentum, FBI slower overnight,” while another listed instructions like “Change hat, shoes, pluck eyebrows.” The map inside the notebook showed routes linking cities like Pittsburgh, Columbus, Detroit, and St. Louis—suggesting Mangione had planned to stay on the move.
Body-camera footage also showed officers engaging Mangione in conversation before reading him his Miranda rights. Prosecutors elicited testimony that Mangione may have believed he was free to leave when he gave the false name, but defense attorneys countered that multiple officers blocked his exit and he was not informed he was being detained. Whether Mangione’s statements to police and his behavior during the arrest will be admissible is one of the key questions Judge Carro must resolve.
After his arrest, Mangione was held in a special housing unit at SCI Huntingdon, a Pennsylvania state prison, before being transferred to a federal jail in Brooklyn. Correctional officers testified that Mangione made unsolicited comments about the contents of his backpack and asked whether the media was focused on him or the crime itself. He also discussed his travels to Asia and differences between private and nationalized health care. According to officer Tomas Rivers, Mangione was kept under close watch in part to avoid “an Epstein-style situation,” referencing the suicide of Jeffrey Epstein in a Manhattan jail.
Throughout the hearing, Mangione remained active at the defense table—taking notes, conferring with his lawyers, and sometimes acknowledging supporters in the gallery. He was allowed to wear regular clothes, not jail attire, and was photographed pumping his fist for the cameras one day and shooing away a photographer on another.
Mangione, 27, an Ivy League graduate from a wealthy Maryland family, has pleaded not guilty to both state and federal murder charges. While federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty, the state trial could carry a life sentence. No trial dates have been set for either case, though a federal hearing is scheduled for January 9, 2026.
The outcome of Judge Carro’s ruling in May could dramatically shape the prosecution’s case. If the judge sides with Mangione and excludes the evidence obtained during his arrest, it would deal a major blow to prosecutors—potentially blocking them from showing jurors the most incriminating items seized from Mangione’s bag. On the other hand, if the evidence is admitted, it could prove pivotal in the state’s efforts to secure a conviction in the murder of Brian Thompson, a case that has gripped the public and the business world alike.
As the legal teams prepare their written arguments and the judge reviews the hours of footage and testimony, the next chapter in this high-stakes case remains unwritten. For now, all eyes are on May 18, when the fate of crucial evidence—and perhaps the direction of the entire trial—will be decided.
