Judge allows gun, notebook as evidence in Mangione murder trial
Criminal defense attorney and legal analyst Donna Rotunno has provided her insights on a recent decision by a New York City judge to admit a gun and notebook found in Luigi Mangione’s backpack as evidence in his murder trial. Rotunno has raised concerns about the potential consequences of this ruling. The case has garnered substantial public interest and support for Mangione, evoking comparisons to the high-profile O.J. Simpson trial during this pivotal hearing.
Luigi Mangione, accused of murder, appeared in a New York City court on Wednesday. However, details about the proceedings were scarce, as the hearing was sealed following a request from his defense team, leaving reporters with little information 24 hours later.
The 28-year-old, a former Ivy League student, faces charges of stalking and shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50, in the back outside a Hilton hotel in Manhattan.
When contacted for comments, a spokesperson for Mangione’s defense team chose not to discuss the hearing. Similarly, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office did not respond to inquiries.
Luigi Mangione was present at an evidence suppression hearing held at the Manhattan Supreme Court in New York City on May 18, 2026. (Photo by 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.
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.
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 News Media.
Mangione faces separate charges at the state and federal levels and is due back in respective courtrooms later this month in both cases.
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)
Surveillance video shows a masked figure approach Thompson from behind and open fire with a handgun, striking him multiple times in the back.
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.
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 News Media)
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.
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.