A judge in New York has issued a crucial ruling in the state murder trial of Luigi Mangione, deciding that a gun and a red notebook recovered during a police station search can be admitted as evidence. The ruling is a significant victory for prosecutors, who argue that the notebook's contents help establish premeditation in the killing of UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson, which took place roughly two years ago.
The judge drew a distinction between two separate searches of Mangione's belongings. A search of his backpack conducted at a McDonald's restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania, was ruled improper because officers did not obtain a search warrant. As a result, evidence recovered from the backpack, including a loaded gun magazine, a cell phone, a passport, a wallet, and a computer chip, will be suppressed and cannot be presented to the jury.
However, the search conducted at the police station was found to be lawful. Items recovered there, including the gun itself, a USB drive, and the red notebook, will be allowed into evidence. The prosecution views the notebook as a particularly important piece of the case, as it contains handwritten entries that they believe reveal Mangione's state of mind in the period leading up to the killing.
Among the passages in the red notebook are statements such as: "I finally feel confident about what I will do," and "The details are coming together and I don't feel any doubt about whether it is right or justified." Another entry reads: "I'm glad in a way that I procrastinated. That allowed me to learn more about" what appears to be a reference to UnitedHealthCare. Prosecutors intend to use these writings to argue that Mangione planned the killing deliberately and over a sustained period.
The ruling also touched on statements Mangione made before being read his Miranda rights at the McDonald's location. The mixed outcome of the evidence hearing means that while the defense succeeded in blocking some material from the trial, the prosecution retains access to what it considers its most compelling physical evidence linking Mangione to the crime.
This article was produced by AVALW News based on live broadcast monitoring of CBS News (detected at 15:00 UTC on May 18, 2026). The original broadcast segment can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyP3LcjFsro&t=33s