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A New York judge has partially granted a request to toss crucial evidence obtained after law enforcement located Luigi Mangione in the wake of the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.Mangione, 28, was found at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, days after a five-day manhunt. Authorities say he fatally shot Thompson outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel in New York City on Dec. 4, 2024. He was arrested and charged with nine felony counts, including second-degree murder, in New York state court, as well as separate charges in Pennsylvania and federal court.During a nine-day hearing in December 2025, Mangione's attorneys battled prosecutors in New York state court over whether evidence police found in Mangione's backpack at the time - including a notebook, a silencer and a 3D-printed handgun - and statements he later made to law enforcement should be presented at trial.Mangione's attorneys argued that police searched the multiple backpack before obtaining a warrant and, therefore, it should be excluded. The defense also asked the court to toss out statements Mangione made to police, arguing that he was interrogated before being read his Miranda rights and after he invoked them.Prosecutors, meanwhile, argued that the searches complied with Pennsylvania and New York law, local police procedure and a subsequently obtained search warrant provides an independent basis to admit the evidence.The decision marks a victory for Mangione's defense, but it won't completely derail the prosecution's case, according to Cheryl Bader, a professor of law at Fordham University. Other purported evidence against Mangione includes items found near the crime scene that authorities say contained his DNA, including a cell phone and a water bottle."It doesn't mean that the case can't go forward, right?" she said. "They also have DNA evidence and surveillance photos."Evidence tossed after conflicting ruling in federal caseMangione's attorneys in that case also argued prosecutors should be barred from using evidence found in the backpack because police illegally searched it without a warrant. But U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett denied Mangione's motion on Jan. 30, finding the "entire contents of the Backpack fall squarely within several exceptions to the warrant requirement."The denial came after a much briefer hearing in which government called just one witness and the defense called none.Mangione's state trial in New York is scheduled to begin in September and his federal trial is set to start in January.Contributing: Reuters
