Suppression hearings in the murder case against accused UnitedHealthcare CEO assassin Luigi Mangione took a sharp turn this week as defense attorneys zeroed in on 11 minutes of missing body-camera footage and an evidence handoff that occurred outside police recording.
Mangione, 27, is charged with fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a Midtown Manhattan street in December 2024. He has pleaded not guilty in both state and federal court. Prosecutors say he fled New York and was arrested five days later at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where officers searched his backpack and ultimately recovered a loaded handgun and suppressor.
But according to this week’s testimony, the gun did not appear until a second search of the backpack — conducted after the body-cam gap.
Officer Christy Wasser, whose testimony has become the centerpiece of the suppression fight this week, acknowledged Monday that her camera was off for roughly 11 minutes as officers transported Mangione’s belongings from the McDonald’s to the police station, per Rolling Stone. The missing segment includes the moment Wasser said she transferred custody of a bag of evidence to another officer, Stephen Fox, an exchange that was not recorded.
Fox reportedly testified that officers typically don’t have their body cams activated when transporting evidence or driving without a suspect.
When Wasser’s camera was switched back on, footage shows her entering the police station still wearing the same gloves from the original search. She briefly opened the main compartment of the bag, which she had already inspected at the McDonald’s, then moved to a front pouch she had not previously opened on film. There, she discovers a loaded handgun.
“You and Officer Fox were slicing things open at McDonald’s, but somehow didn’t see the gun right on top,” defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo said, suggesting the possibility that the weapon was planted, per People. Wasser denied the allegation.
Defense lawyers also challenged Wasser’s claim that she feared the backpack contained a bomb, pointing out that officers never evacuated the restaurant or summoned a bomb squad. Body-cam footage played in court showed officers casually parsing through the bag while others joked, whistled along to Christmas music, and chatted with Mangione, who continued eating breakfast.
Prosecutors unveiled what they called Mangione’s “to-do list,” a handwritten set of notes and a map allegedly detailing his plan to flee Pennsylvania. Prosecutors argued the notebook, recovered from the same backpack, demonstrates consciousness of guilt.
The hearing has stretched far longer than expected, with Judge Gregory Carro urging both sides to move faster after five days of testimony from officers, prosecutors, and jail staff. About seven of roughly 30 witnesses have taken the stand so far, as of the time of this writing.
The proceeding will decide whether the backpack search, conducted without a warrant and before Mangione received Miranda warnings, violated his constitutional rights. A ruling suppressing the gun, notes, and related evidence could dramatically alter the prosecution’s case.
Mangione remains held in federal custody in Brooklyn.
This hearing follows a prior order from Carro dismissing the terrorism charges against Mangione, per The Dallas Express.