Lawyer for alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO killer Luigi Mangione seeks to suppress weapon, 'manifesto' notebook evidence in case

The lawyer of accused UnitedHealthcare CEO killer Luigi Mangione said Friday that she hopes to suppress the alleged murder weapon and "manifesto" notebook found by Pennsylvania police inside a bag when he was arrested last December inside a Pennsylvania McDonald’s.

Mangione, 26, an Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland family, stands charged Manhattan Supreme Court and federal court in Manhattan in the Dec. 4, 2024, killing of health care executive Brian Thompson, 50, outside the Midtown Hilton Hotel.

Mangione could face the death penalty if convicted of murder, stalking and gun charges in the federal trial.

The case has tapped into a deep public discontent over the nation’s health care system and young supporters of Mangione crowded the Manhattan Supreme Court hallway before the hearing. The group burst into applause when his defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo first arrived.

During the hearing, Friedman Agnifilo argued that her client’s right to a fair trial was being undermined because the U.S. Department of Justice prohibited her client from attending a hearing in Pennsylvania, where he’s being charged with weapons possession and having fake identification, the least serious of the charges.

However, the crucial physical evidence tying Mangione to the crime — a ghost gun with ballistics that allegedly match shell casings from the scene and a notebook with self-incriminating writings against the health care industry — were found in a bookbag that Mangione had with him when he was arrested.

"We are concerned that Luigi’s constitutional rights were violated in Pennsylvania and there are serious search and seizure issues that will be litigated in that case," she said. "It’s alleged that Luigi had a gun on him and had other property on him and they are going to use that against him."

Also inside the bag, police found a notebook with Mangione’s writings, described as a three-page manifesto in which he complained about America’s health care system, calling health insurance companies "parasites."

Friedman Agnifilo questioned why Mangione is being held in the federal Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn instead of a city jail.

"I thought you people were supposed to be working on it so we had custody," Supreme Court Justice Gregory Carro asked Assistant District Attorneys Christopher Prevost and Zachary Kaplan. "The federal jurisdiction said that we would go first."

Kaplan noted that the defense lawyer agreed to have Mangione held in federal lockup.

"When they’re hanging the death penalty over your head, you have no choice but to consent," Friedman Agnifilo said.

Prosecutors said that they had turned over 800 gigabytes of evidence, including information from a cellphone dropped at the scene, police bodyworn camera video and surveillance video collected by the NYPD. But Friedman Agnifilo said that she was still missing crucial pieces, like the notebook discovered during the arrest. She objected to setting a future date to file motions in the case.

"I think you have enough," Carro said, ordering the defense attorney to file her first brief by April 9. Prosecutors were told to respond by May 14 and the judge said that he would try to have a decision by June 26. No trial date was set.

The defense lawyer also complained that Mangione’s detention in the federal Metropolitan Detention Center prevented her from being able to confer with her client, so the judge allowed them a few minutes to talk at the end of the hearing.

Wearing a green cable-knit sweater, bulletproof vest, khaki pants and loafers, no socks and leg shackles and handcuffs, Mangione leaned in and laughed as he spoke to his lawyers.

Despite the multiple charges against Mangione for the death of Thompson, a married father of two children, there has still been an outpouring of public sympathy and support for Mangione.

He recently set up a website where he addressed his many supporters, who often attend court appearances and protest outside the courthouse.

"I am overwhelmed by — and grateful for — everyone who has written me to share their stories and express their support," he wrote in a statement on his website. "Powerfully, this support has transcended political, racial, and even class divisions, as mail has flooded MDC from across the country, and around the globe. While it is impossible for me to reply to most letters, please know that I read every one that I receive. Thank you again to everyone who took the time to write. I look forward to hearing more in the future."