Defense attorneys for Luigi Mangione, the man accused of murdering United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, are seeking the dismissal of a federal charge that makes him eligible for the death penalty, arguing in a new court filing that it fails to meet the required legal standard.
The motion also seeks to suppress evidence recovered from a backpack Mangione was carrying when he was arrested. His lawyers contend that the warrantless search of the backpack by Altoona, Pennsylvania, law enforcement violated his Fourth Amendment rights. Prosecutors have previously defended the search, which yielded the alleged murder weapon and writings that investigators believe establish a motive.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to federal charges for the December 4, 2024, killing of Thompson in Midtown Manhattan. Prosecutors allege he stalked the executive, who was in the city for an investor conference, before shooting him at close range with a 9mm handgun fitted with a silencer.
After a multi-day manhunt, Mangione was captured at a McDonald’s in Altoona. Investigators state his backpack contained the handgun, a fake ID, and a notebook with an entry that read, “I finally feel confident about what I will do. The target is insurance. It checks every box.”
In April, a federal grand jury indicted Mangione on charges of stalking, a firearms offense, and murder through the use of a firearm, the latter of which exposes him to a potential death sentence.
Mangione also faces separate state charges in New York and Pennsylvania, to which he has also pleaded not guilty. His attorneys have described the simultaneous prosecutions as an “untenable situation” and have requested that the state cases be dismissed or delayed. He is scheduled for a pretrial hearing in Pennsylvania on November 7 on charges of forgery, possession of an instrument of a crime, and giving a false ID to an officer.
In a separate ruling in September, a New York judge dismissed two state-level murder charges related to terrorism, stating that the evidence presented was insufficient to support them.
Mangione is scheduled to appear in federal court again in December.
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