On Monday, Luigi Mangione, the alleged assassin, made his way back to the courtroom for the first of three crucial hearings. His defense team aims to challenge the admissibility of key evidence related to the murder of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO, Brian Thompson.

Now 27, Mangione, an Ivy League graduate, stands accused of tailing the 50-year-old CEO, who had two children, before purportedly shooting him from behind outside a hotel in Manhattan.

Thompson, a Minnesota resident, was in New York to attend a shareholder meeting scheduled for later that day.

Luigi Mangione appeared in Manhattan’s Supreme Court as proceedings began in the high-profile case surrounding the fatal shooting of Brian Thompson on September 16, 2025. (Photo by Curtis Means for DailyMail/Pool)

The defense team is pushing to have evidence dismissed that was obtained when Mangione was apprehended at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania, five days following the murder. The contested evidence includes items from his backpack, such as the alleged murder weapon and his personal journals, alongside statements he provided to law enforcement before being issued a Miranda warning.

The hearings are expected to run for several days, with a break on Wednesday.

There are three different types of suppression hearings — Mapp, Huntley and Mosley. Two of them are expected this week: a Mapp hearing, to determine whether certain types of physical evidence should be suppressed or thrown out, and a Huntley hearing, to determine if a confession or other statements to law enforcement are admissible. 

Luigi Mangione allegedly killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. (AP Photo/UnitedHealth Group via AP)

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has not yet finalized its trial strategy, and a Mosley hearing, which determines if non-eyewitnesses can testify at trial, is not expected yet.

Mangione faces a slew of charges in New York, Pennsylvania and federally.

A screenshot from surveillance footage released by the NYPD shows a person of interest, later identified as Luigi Mangione, in connection with the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Midtown Manhattan on Dec. 4, 2024. (NYPD Crime Stoppers )

State-level terror charges were thrown out earlier this year, but Mangione still faces second-degree murder, seven counts of criminal possession of a weapon, and possession of a forged ID in New York.

He faces a maximum of life in prison in the Empire State.

If convicted on the top federal charges, he could face the death penalty.

This is a developing story. Stick with Fox News Digital for updates.