Accused assassin Luigi Mangione returned to court Monday for the first of three hearings in which his lawyers will ask the court to toss evidence in the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
The 27-year-old Ivy League alumnus is accused of stalking Thompson, a 50-year-old father of two, before allegedly shooting him from behind outside a Manhattan hotel.
Thompson, who lived in Minnesota, was expected to attend a shareholder conference later that morning.
Mangione’s lawyers are asking the court to suppress evidence collected during his arrest at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s five days after the murder. The evidence includes physical evidence from a backpack, including the suspected murder weapon and his journals, as well as statements he made to police before they read him a Miranda warning.
The hearings are expected to run for several days, with a break on Wednesday.
There are three different types of suppression hearings — Mapp, Huntley and Mosley. Two of them are expected this week: a Mapp hearing, to determine whether certain types of physical evidence should be suppressed or thrown out, and a Huntley hearing, to determine if a confession or other statements to law enforcement are admissible.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has not yet finalized its trial strategy, and a Mosley hearing, which determines if non-eyewitnesses can testify at trial, is not expected yet.
Mangione faces a slew of charges in New York, Pennsylvania and federally.
State-level terror charges were thrown out earlier this year, but Mangione still faces second-degree murder, seven counts of criminal possession of a weapon, and possession of a forged ID in New York.
He faces a maximum of life in prison in the Empire State.
If convicted on the top federal charges, he could face the death penalty.
This is a developing story. Stick with Fox News Digital for updates.
