“Police Offered Snack to Obtain Luigi Mangione’s DNA Following Illegal Search, Lawyers Claim”

Luigi Mangione’s lawyers in Pennsylvania have requested the court to dismiss evidence against him in the UnitedHealthcare murder case. They argue that officers who arrested him in Altoona unlawfully searched his belongings days after the New York killing in 2020.

According to Pennlive, the police conducted the search without a valid reason, potentially compromising any DNA evidence found. The defense team asserts that this search was in violation of Mangione’s rights.

Arresting officers allegedly gave Mangione food and soda to acquire his DNA.

READ: Luigi Mangione Accepts $300K in Donations as UHC Murder Trial Looms

In addition, Mangione’s legal team is asking the court not to label his notebook as a “manifesto.” They contest that law enforcement incorrectly described it as such to the media following Mangione’s arrest.

Mangione was arrested five days after UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot in Manhattan, New York, on December 4. Thompson was attending his company’s annual investor meeting when he was killed.

Authorities said fingerprints recovered from a water bottle and a KIND snack bar at the scene matched Mangione’s prints.

In addition to allegedly having a gun with a silencer and fake IDs, authorities said Mangione also had a 262-word “manifesto” that decried the healthcare industry as “parasites.” Shortly after Mangione’s arrest, New York officials held a press coverage in which they hinted at the motive in Thompson’s murder. NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said Mangione, a data engineer with a master’s from the University of Pennsylvania, “has some ill will towards corporate America.”

The latest motion pertains to state firearm charges against Pennsylvania. In New York, he faces state charges of first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism, second-degree murder as an act of terrorism, and criminal possession of a weapon.

On the federal level, Mangione is charged in New York with murder through the use of a firearm, stalking, and a firearms offense. He potentially faces the death penalty if convicted. Mangione’s attorney, Karen Agnifilo, said federal prosecutors are still considering whether to pursue the death penalty against Mangione. She claimed this decision is being delayed by the discovery process.

[Feature Photo: AP Photo/Seth Wenig]