Written By: Elizaveta Bukraba-Ulanova
I. Factual Background
On December 4, 2024, Brian Thompson, CEO of United Healthcare, was shot and killed in Manhattan, New York. The police, following a tip that a McDonald’s employee called in, arrested Luigi Mangione inside the McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, five days following the shooting. During the arrest, authorities searched Mangione’s backpack, in which they found a red notebook with handwritten notes, a 9mm gun without a serial number, along with ammunition, a homemade suppressor, US and foreign currency, identification papers, a laptop, storage devices, and other personal belongings. Mangione also made statements to police during and after his arrest, which the prosecution intends to present at trial.
Luigi Mangione has been charged with the shooting and killing of Brian Thompson. He is now facing a nine-count indictment, including a second-degree murder charge, along with several weapons charges. Mangione faces charges in both federal and state courts and has pleaded not guilty to all charges in both jurisdictions. The development of the suppression hearing discussed in the article concerns the New York state case.
II. Recent Developments: Suppression Hearing
The state case remains in the pre-trial phase. In December 2025, Mangione’s defense counsel moved for Mapp and Huntley hearings. During the Mapp hearing, the judge evaluates whether the police unlawfully seized evidence and, therefore, whether the evidence should be excluded. While Huntley hearing evaluates whether the defendant’s Miranda Rights were upheld and the statements made to the police were voluntary or whether the evidence should be excluded.
Mangione’s defense sought to exclude the physical evidence taken from his backpack and certain statements he made to the police, arguing that the police actions were unconstitutional and threatened a fair trial. Suppression hearings are generally brief and straightforward, during which the judge determines the admissibility of evidence for trial. However, Mangione’s hearings were called “extraordinarily unconventional” because of the public attention they drew and the unusually long duration of the hearings themselves.
The suppression hearing lasted three weeks in December of 2025 and was overseen by Judge Gregory Catto. Throughout the lengthy hearing, 17 witnesses testified and were cross-examined by the defense. The hearing concluded on December 18, 2025.
A. Suppression of Physical Evidence
On the day of the arrest, at the McDonald’s, officers responding to a tip call approached Mangione. Mangione handed them a fake license under the name of Mark Rosario, after which the police handcuffed him and led him outside. Body camera footage showed two officers searching Mangione’s bag for the first time at the scene; the bag was searched twice more at the police station.
The defense argues that the evidence police obtained is inadmissible at trial because it was unlawfully seized; the officers did not have a search warrant during the initial search conducted at McDonald’s, and the application for such a warrant was allegedly made several hours after the search. Prosecution argues that “search incident to an arrest” allowed the officers to examine possessions within Mangione’s reach and to inventory them. The supervising police officer, testifying at the suppression hearing, stated that his detectives were already searching for a man “who had bought a bus ticket to New York and checked into a hostel under the name of Mark Rosario.”
B. Suppression of Statements Made Before the Reading of Miranda Rights
Defense also contended that some statements by Mangione should be excluded because he was questioned before being read his Miranda Rights. Miranda Rights must be given before any in-custody interrogation. As a result, the suppression hearing centered on defining and determining what constitutes being ‘in custody” and what qualifies as “interrogation” in this particular case.
Mangione’s defense argued that the statements he made at McDonald’s on the day of his arrest, as well as up until his extradition to New York—which occurred 10 days later—should be excluded from trial. Defense argued that police started questioning Mangione at McDonald’s without first reading him his Miranda Rights prior to the interrogation. In contrast, the prosecution argued that Mangione’s Miranda Rights were read at the correct time, so his statements should not be excluded.
III. Conclusion
The suppression hearing concluded on December 18, 2025. Judge Gregory Catto announced that he will decide in May of 2026 which evidence will be admitted or excluded. He has the discretion to admit all, some, or none of the key evidence under consideration.
The three-week hearing revealed several contentious issues, including 11 minutes when a police officer’s body camera was turned off during the transport of Mangione’s belongings. Debates also arose over whether the officer’s concerns about a bomb were legitimate and justified the search of the bag, and whether the body camera recording was a secret recording that violated Pennsylvania’s dual-consent law. These topics discussed during the suppression hearing heightened tensions and highlighted the hearings’ importance.
Since the evidence in question during the suppression hearing is among the prosecution’s key evidence, the outcome of the hearing may determine whether the prosecution may proceed with their intended evidentiary narrative and strategy or whether they will be compelled to reevaluate the said strategy, all dependent on the materials excluded. As the parties and the general public now await the judge’s decision in May of 2026, one thing is certain: the three-week hearing represents a pivotal moment in the litigation, with the potential to influence the trajectory of both parties during the trial.
Sources
Aaron Katersky, Ronya Simpson & Peter Charalambous, Prosecutors in Pretrial Hearing Play 911 Call That Led to Luigi Mangione’s Arrest, ABC NEWS (December 1, 2025 5:15 PM) https://abcnews.go.com/US/luigi-mangione-returns-court-pretrial-hearing/story?id=127989204
Christine Savino, US Dispatch, Day 4: Third Officer Testifies Finding Gun in Luigi Mangione’s Backpack, Judge Defends Evidence Sealing from Press, JURISTNEWS (December 11, 2025 09:34:09 PM) https://www.jurist.org/news/2025/12/us-dispatch-day-4-third-officer-testifies-finding-gun-in-luigi-mangiones-backpack-judge-defends-evidence-sealing-from-press/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Christine Savino, US Dispatch, Day 8: Prosecution Withdraws Luigi Mangione Interrogation Statements Over Pennsylvania Recording Law Concern, JURISTNEWS (December 23, 2025 01:26:15 AM) https://www.jurist.org/news/2025/12/us-dispatch-day-8-prosecution-withdraws-luigi-mangione-interrogation-statements-over-pennsylvania-recording-law-concern/
David Voreacos, Luigi Mangione Pre-Trial Hearing Ends With Ruling Months Away, BLOOMBERGLAW (December 18, 2025 12:11 PM EST) https://news.bloomberglaw.com/new-york-brief/luigi-mangione-pre-trial-hearing-ends-with-ruling-months-away?context=search&index=1
Emily Saul, Mangione Attorneys Seek to Bar Comments, Evidence From State Murder Case, LAW.COM (December 01, 2025 at 05:38 PM) https://www.law.com/newyorklawjournal/2025/12/01/mangione-attorneys-seek-to-bar-comments-evidence-from-state-murder-case/
Eric Levenson & Nicki Brown, Fake Name, Unrecorded Minutes and a Backpack Search. What We’ve Learned at Luigi Mangione’s Pre-Trial Hearing, CNN US (December 12, 2025) https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/12/us/luigi-mangione-pre-trial-hearing
Hurubie Meko & Anusha Bayya, At the Center of the Latest Mangione Hearings: A Battle Over a Backpack, N.Y. TIMES (December 21, 2025) https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/21/nyregion/luigi-mangione-backpack-evidence.html
Lorena O’Neil, Will Evidence in Luigi Mangione’s Murder Trial be Thrown Out?, ROLLING STONE (December 20, 2025) https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/luigi-mangione-miranda-rights-backpack-evidence-thrown-out-1235487894/
Michael H. Ricca, The Criminal Case In A Nut Shell: An 9 Part Series, Part 6: Suppression Hearings (Huntley, Dunaway, Mapp, and Wade) NASSAYCOUNTYTRAFFICLAWYER (March 18, 2019) https://nassaucountytrafficlawyer.com/the-criminal-case-in-a-nut-shell-an-9-part-series-part-6-suppression-hearings-huntley-dunaway-mapp-and-wade/