Luigi Mangione’s pretrial hearing concludes as judge says he’ll issue ruling on evidence in May

(NEW YORK) — The evidence suppression hearing in the case against accused CEO killer Luigi Mangione concluded Thursday after the defense signaled it would call no witnesses.

“The defense rests,” defense attorney Karen Agnifilo said after prosecutors indicated they, too, rested.

The nine-day hearing will determine what evidence will be used against Mangione when he goes on trial on charges of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a Manhattan sidewalk last year.

The defense has argued the officers violated Mangione’s constitutional rights against illegal search and seizure because they lacked a warrant when they searched his backpack after Mangione was apprehended in a Pennsylvania McDonald’s five days after the shooting.

New York Judge Gregory Carro gave the defense until Jan. 29 to make its final argument about the evidence in writing.  Prosecutors have until March 5.  The defense then has two weeks after that to submit a reply.

Carro said he expected to issue his decision about what, if any, evidence to exclude on May 18, at which point he would also set a date for trial.

Prosecutor Joel Seidemann pushed for the case to move toward trial, noting that Thompson’s mother is 77 years old and is waiting for the case to reach a conclusion.

The suppression hearing included testimony from 17 witnesses and produced new information about the case that the Manhattan district attorney’s office is building against Mangione.

Higher-quality surveillance video of Thompson’s murder that was played in court shows Thompson buckling against the side of the Hilton facade, the suspect calmly walking by the victim and bystanders pointing in the suspect’s direction.

Multiple body-worn camera videos of the hour-long encounter at the McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, show officers approaching Mangione, placing him under arrest and searching his backpack.

The body camera footage shows officers collected more evidence from Mangione than previously known, including handwritten notes that prosecutors characterized as a “to-do” list, as well as possible “escape routes.” One of the notes included a reminder to “pluck eyebrows.”

Prosecutors played several 911 calls, and Pennsylvania correction officers testified that Mangione made statements about health care, how he was being perceived in the media, and about a 3D-printed gun.

Defense attorneys highlighted how Mangione was not read his rights until 19 minutes after officers first approached him. Officers testified they believed Mangione was the suspect in the New York shooting and were trying to confirm his identity without raising his suspicions because they were under a “high level of threat.”

Altoona Patrolman Stephen Fox testified that Mangione saw the crowd of media gathered outside for his arraignment and quoted him saying, “All these people here for a mass murderer, wild.”

Fox also testified that Mangione, after tripping on his shackles, said, “It’s OK, I’ll have to get used to it.”