A federal judge said Friday that Luigi Mangione could stand trial before the end of the year, even as his parallel state murder case has been slowed by evidentiary fights and recent setbacks for prosecutors.
Luigi Mangione, accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a Manhattan sidewalk in December 2024, returned to federal court in New York as U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett weighed defense efforts to block prosecutors from seeking the death penalty.
Garnett said that if capital punishment remains on the table, jury selection would begin in early September, with trial expected in December or January, per ABC News. If the death penalty is excluded, she said, the trial could start in the fall.
Garnett did not rule Friday on whether Mangione can face the death penalty, setting a follow-up hearing for January 30.
She also signaled that evidence seized from Mangione’s backpack after his arrest at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, was likely lawfully taken, though she reserved the right to revisit that issue later.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of stalking and murder, which could carry a sentence of death or life in prison if he is convicted.
Prosecutors have said they intend to seek capital punishment, a decision his defense lawyers argue was political, The Dallas Express reported in April 2025.
The federal timeline stands in contrast to Mangione’s state murder case in the Manhattan Supreme Court, which has yet to receive a trial date and has been marked by prolonged suppression hearings and complications for the prosecution. Those hearings wrapped up in December after weeks of testimony, with the state judge saying he would rule by May on what evidence prosecutors may use at trial, DX reported.
Defense attorneys in the state case have argued that police improperly searched Mangione’s belongings and continued recording him after he requested a lawyer, raising questions about whether key statements and physical evidence should be excluded.
During the hearings, prosecutors withdrew certain recorded statements rather than defend their admissibility, a move the defense described as significant.
Additional disputes emerged over the absence of the case’s lead detective from the witness stand and over public statements attributed to investigators shortly after Mangione’s arrest. Those developments were also previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Federal prosecutors, for their part, have maintained that law enforcement acted reasonably and that the evidence, including a gun and a notebook recovered from the backpack, was obtained lawfully and would inevitably have been discovered, the AP reported.
Garnett reportedly said Friday that she was not inclined to hold a separate evidentiary hearing on the backpack search in the federal case, unlike the extended proceedings in state court.
Mangione’s appearance again drew supporters to the courthouse, some wearing green clothing and packing the courtroom gallery. “We have a full house here today,” Garnett said at the outset, reminding spectators that decorum would be enforced.
Authorities allege Thompson was shot from behind as he walked to a hotel hosting UnitedHealth Group’s annual investor conference. Mangione was arrested five days later in Pennsylvania. He remains in federal custody as both cases move forward on separate tracks.