Hearing in Luigi Mangione's state murder case sheds new light on investigation into CEO's killing

Police had been told that a customer at the McDonald's resembled the much-publicized suspect in Thompson's killing, but a pair of officers initially approached Mangione with a low-key tone, saying only that someone had said he looked “suspicious.” Asked for his ID, he gave a phony New Jersey driver's license with a fake name, according to prosecutors.

Moments later, after frisking Mangione, Officer Joseph Detwiler stepped away to communicate with dispatchers about the license, leaving rookie Officer Tyler Frye by Mangione's table.

“So what’s going on? What brings you up here from New Jersey,” Frye asked, according to his body-camera video.

Mangione answered in a low voice. Asked what the suspect had said, Frye testified Thursday: “It was something along the lines of: He didn’t want to talk to me at that time.”

Mangione later added that “he was just trying to use the Wi-Fi,” according to Frye.

Mangione, 27, has pleaded not guilty to state and federal murder charges. Before any trials get scheduled, his lawyers are trying to preclude the eventual jurors from hearing about his alleged statements to law officers and items — including a gun and a notebook — they allegedly seized from his backpack.

The evidence is key to prosecutors' case. They have said that the 9 mm handgun matches the firearm used in the killing, that writings in the notebook laid out Mangione's disdain for health insurers and ideas about killing a CEO at an investor conference, and that he gave police the same fake name that the alleged gunman used at a New York hostel days before the shooting.

Thursday's proceedings came on the anniversary of the killing. Thompson, 50, was shot from behind as he walked to an investor conference. He became UnitedHealthcare's CEO in 2021 and had worked within parent UnitedHealth Group Inc. for 20 years.

The hearing, which started Monday and could extend to next week, applies only to the state case. But it is giving the public an extensive preview of some testimony, video, 911 audio and other records relevant to both cases.

Police interacted with Mangione for roughly 20 minutes before telling him he had the right to remain silent. The officers asked his name, whether he’d been in New York recently and other questions, including: “Why are you nervous?”

Officers tried to play it cool and buy time by intimating that they were simply responding to a loitering complaint and chatting about his steak sandwich. Still, they patted Mangione down and pushed his backpack away from him. About 15 minutes in, they warned him that he was being investigated and would be arrested if he repeated what they had determined was a fake name.

After he gave his real one, he was read his rights, handcuffed, frisked again and ultimately arrested on a forgery charge related to his fake ID.

The video also provided glimpses of officers searching his backpack, a matter that will likely be explored further as the hearing proceeds.

Mangione's lawyers argue that his statements shouldn't be allowed as trial evidence because officers started questioning him before reading his rights. They say the items from his backpack should be excluded because police didn’t get a warrant before searching it.

Manhattan prosecutors haven't yet detailed their arguments for allowing the disputed evidence. Federal prosecutors have maintained that police were justified in searching the backpack to ensure there was nothing dangerous inside, and that Mangione's statements to officers were voluntary and made before he was under arrest.

Many criminal cases see disputes over evidence and the complicated legal standards governing police searches and interactions with potential suspects.