Judge allows gun, notebook as evidence in Mangione murder trial
Criminal defense attorney and legal expert Donna Rotunno analyzes a New York City judge’s controversial decision to allow a gun and notebook from Luigi Mangione’s backpack into evidence for his murder trial. Rotunno expresses concern over the ruling’s implications. The segment highlights significant public interest and support for Mangione, drawing comparisons to an ‘O.J.-type trial’ during this key hearing.
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Accused assassin Luigi Mangione was due in a New York City courtroom Wednesday, he came and went, and details remained scant 24 hours later after reporters were told his hearing had been sealed following a request from the defense.
The 28-year-old former Ivy Leaguer is accused of stalking UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50, and shooting him in the back outside a Manhattan Hilton hotel.
A spokesperson for Mangione’s defense declined to discuss the hearing. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office did not respond to requests for comment.
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Luigi Mangione appears at an evidence suppression hearing at the Manhattan Supreme Court in New York City on May 18, 2026. (Jeenah Moon/Reuters)
The unexplained closure raised concerns about transparency in one of the country’s most high-profile legal cases, where the suspected killer has also received more than $1.5 million in donations for his defense from supporters.
UNITEDHEALTHCARE CEO MURDER SUSPECT LUIGI MANGIONE INDICTED IN NEW YORK
The Associated Press reported Wednesday that a media lawyer who asked Judge Gregory Carro’s staff for an explanation received a terse response before a clerk hung up on him.
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Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare, is shown in an undated portrait provided by UnitedHealth. He was shot and killed on his way to an investor conference in New York City in what prosecutors described as a politically motivated assassination. (AP Photo/UnitedHealth Group via AP)
On Thursday, a court spokesperson did not respond to questions about the secrecy from Fox News Digital.
Mangione faces separate charges at the state and federal levels and is due back in respective courtrooms later this month in both cases.
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He has pleaded not guilty to a slew of charges, including murder, criminal possession of a weapon and possession of a forged instrument.
But prosecutors allege he stalked Thompson, a father of two, from Minnesota to New York to kill him outside an investor conference scheduled to kick off just hours after the murder.
Luigi Mangione appears at an evidence suppression hearing at the Manhattan Supreme Court in New York City on May 18, 2026. (Steven Hirsch/New York Post via Pool)
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Surveillance video shows a masked figure approach Thompson from behind and open fire with a handgun, striking him multiple times in the back.
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A series of handwritten missives that police allegedly recovered from Mangione’s backpack during his arrest also paints sharp criticism of the health insurance industry as a potential motive, according to prosecutors.
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Luigi Mangione shouts as officers restrain him while arriving for his extradition hearing at Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg, Pa., on Dec. 10, 2024. Mangione is the prime suspect in the shooting death of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson last week. (David Dee Delgado for Fox News Digital)
The defense challenged evidence obtained during Mangione’s arrest in both cases. The federal judge, Margaret Garnett, is allowing it in.
Carro, overseeing the state case, found that some of the evidence from Mangione’s backpack is inadmissible in New York.
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Evidence ruled admissible includes the gun, a 3D-printed silencer, and a red notebook that allegedly contains damning writing. Evidence to be suppressed includes a phone, Mangione’s passport, loaded magazines, a wallet and a computer chip.
His New York trial is scheduled to begin in September. The federal one will take place after that.
Fox News’ Maria Paronich contributed to this report.