A date has been set for jury selection in the highly anticipated trial of Luigi Mangione, the man accused of gunning down United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024.
At a hearing in Manhattan federal court on Friday, Judge Margaret Garnett set the jury selection process to begin 8 September, according to the BBC’s US partner CBS News.
The start date of the trial will depend on whether Mangione, who has pleaded not guilty in the killing, will face the death penalty.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi is seeking the death penalty in the case. The judge is weighing the request and if granted, the trial will begin 11 January 2027.
Otherwise opening statements in trial will begin 13 October, the judge said.
His lawyer are challenging the admissibility of key evidence in his case, which they argue was unlawfully collected during Mangione’s arrest in an Altoona, Pennsylvania, McDonald’s.
His lawyers argue his backpack was searched without a warrant, and the items found in it, including a notebook and gun, should be excluded for that reason.
Prosecutors argue that the Altoona Police Department’s search of Mangione’s backpack followed protocol and that the items within it should be admissible.
The 90 minute hearing on Friday focused primarily on whether or not the backpack was lawfully searched.
In addition to the federal murder charges, Mangione faces New York state second-degree murder charges as well as weapons and forgery charges. Terrorism charges against him have been dismissed.
A trial date has yet to be set in the state case.
Mangione, 27, has pleaded not guilty to both state and federal murder charges.
By BBC News
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