Luigi Mangione was unable to appear in court Friday due to illness, so a crucial court hearing about what evidence should be admitted in the trial was postponed until Monday morning.
Mangione’s defense is arguing that evidence including his backpack and its contents – a 9mm pistol with a silencer and a notebook filled with writings expressing disdain for the health insurance industry – should not be admitted, saying it was unlawfully searched without a warrant.
The hearing is related to his state case in New York. Mangione, 27, still faces federal charges that could result in the death penalty in the killing of Brian Thompson, the UnitedHealthcare CEO shot dead in the street while attending an investors conference in New York City last year.
More officers who initially arrested Mangione at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Penn. are expected to take the stand Monday.
Thursday, police bodycam showed Mangione suggesting to a police officer that he did not want to speak minutes before he was arrested, and that he was only in McDonald’s to use the Wi-Fi. Officers questioned Mangione for more than 20 minutes before they told him he had the right to remain silent.
Mangione’s defense argues those statements shouldn’t be allowed at trial because he hadn’t been read his rights.
Prosecutors showed pictures in court Thursday showing bus tickets Mangione had on him, including one with a false name. Prosecutors also revealed a silver chain Mangione was wearing had a USB on it.
New photos of evidence, 911 call released
On Thursday, prosecutors also released photos of items police recovered from Mangione when he was arrested for the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
One of the images shows more than $7,000 in cash police said they found on Mangione.
Another image shows a laptop police recovered.
A recording of a a 911 call from the McDonald’s where Mangione was spotted was also released.
“I have a customer here that some other customers were suspicious of, that he looked like the CEO shooter in New York. So they’re just really upset, and they’re coming to me, and I’m like, I can’t really approach him,” the manager of the McDonald’s says on the call.
She went on to describe what he’s wearing, and said a woman working the register was “frantic” when she saw him.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to both state and federal charges.
