Garnett Sets Sept. 8 Jury Selection as Defense Seeks To Suppress Backpack Evidence
U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett set Sept. 8, 2025, for jury selection and will decide whether Altoona police's search of Luigi Mangione's backpack is admissible.
Overview
U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett set jury selection to begin Sept. 8, 2025, and said opening statements will begin Oct. 13, 2025, unless a death-penalty phase is allowed, in which case trial would begin Jan. 11, 2027, court records show.
Prosecutors allege Luigi Mangione fatally shot UnitedHealth Group CEO Brian Thompson on Dec. 4, 2024, and say Altoona officers recovered a gun and a notebook from Mangione's backpack during his Dec. 9, 2024, arrest at a McDonald's, according to court filings.
Nathan Snyder, Altoona deputy police chief, testified about written department procedures for securing, searching and inventorying personal property after an arrest, officials confirmed during the federal evidentiary hearing.
Mangione's lawyers argued the search was unlawful because body-worn camera footage shows officers moved the backpack nearly 20 minutes before his arrest and kept him handcuffed and separated from the bag, his attorneys said, a claim prosecutors dispute.
Garnett ordered prosecutors to produce the federal search-warrant affidavit and scheduled a Jan. 30, 2025, status conference while she later decides on evidence suppression and the defense's request to bar the death penalty, court records show.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources present this coverage neutrally: reporting procedural facts, dates, and competing legal positions without loaded language or selective omission. They cite both defense and prosecution claims — e.g., defense contests warrantless backpack search while prosecutors defend protocol — and note charges, plea, and dismissed terrorism counts, maintaining balanced, factual focus.
Sources (6)
FAQ
Jury selection begins September 8, 2025; opening statements on October 13, 2025, if no death penalty phase; trial starts January 11, 2027, if death penalty is allowed.
Prosecutors recovered a 9-millimeter pistol, silencer, loaded magazine, and notebook with journal entries from the backpack during Mangione's arrest.
Body-worn camera footage shows officers moved the backpack nearly 20 minutes before his arrest and kept him handcuffed and separated from it, violating search procedures.
Federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty, but Judge Garnett is considering the defense's request to bar it, which will affect the trial start date.
On September 16, 2025, a New York state judge dismissed terror-related murder charges, leaving a second-degree murder charge; a separate trial date is not yet set.
History
- 3 sources
