911 Call and Legal Battle: Luigi Mangione’s Pretrial Hearing in CEO Murder Case

911 Call Played at Pretrial Hearing: The Moment Luigi Mangione Was Tracked Down

On a brisk Monday in December 2025, a Manhattan courtroom was filled with tension as prosecutors played a key piece of evidence: the 911 call that led to the arrest of Luigi Mangione, the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. The audio, broadcast publicly for the first time, captured the anxious voice of a McDonald’s manager in Altoona, Pennsylvania. She described a customer—mid height, mid weight, obscured behind a mask and beanie—who, according to another patron, resembled the New York City shooter seen in widely circulated images after Thompson’s fatal shooting. The manager’s uncertainty was palpable: “I don’t know what to do here, guys.” The bustling sounds of breakfast orders punctuated the recording, a mundane backdrop to a moment that would alter the course of Mangione’s life.

Emily States, Blair County’s 911 coordinator, authenticated the recording before it played in court. Prosecutors emphasized the swift response by Altoona police, dispatched within minutes to confront Mangione, who had been quietly eating breakfast. The officers found Mangione using a fake New Jersey driver’s license under the name Mark Rosario, a detail that prosecutors allege ties him to preparations for the crime—including checking into a New York hostel ahead of the shooting.

Evidence Under Scrutiny: The Defense Fights Back

But the prosecution’s narrative is far from uncontested. Mangione’s defense team is mounting a vigorous challenge to the admissibility of critical evidence, including a 3D-printed gun, a silencer, electronic devices, and purported journal writings recovered during his arrest. At the heart of the dispute is whether Altoona police violated Mangione’s constitutional rights during the arrest and subsequent search at McDonald’s.

Defense attorneys argue that officers questioned Mangione for 20 minutes before reading his Miranda Rights, essentially conducting an illegal interrogation. They claim Mangione was trapped by an “armed human wall” of police, and that the search of his backpack—which yielded the alleged murder weapon and incriminating writings—was performed without a warrant. One officer, they say, tried to justify the search by expressing concern about a possible bomb, a rationale the defense calls a “made-up claim” designed to mask an unlawful search.

The legal wrangling is intense. If Judge Gregory Carro agrees with the defense, prosecutors could lose the ability to introduce some of the most damning evidence, including Mangione’s handwritten notes. In one entry, Mangione allegedly wrote, “The target is insurance. It checks every box,” a phrase prosecutors say reveals motive. The outcome of this evidentiary hearing will shape the nature of the trial Mangione faces—and, potentially, the severity of the sentence he could receive if convicted.

Piecing Together the Timeline: Images, Surveillance, and Public Reaction

After the shooting outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel last December, the NYPD launched a citywide manhunt, posting images of the suspect—allegedly Mangione—at various locations: a Starbucks, a hostel, on a bicycle, and in the back of a taxi, all culminating in surveillance footage showing the moment Thompson was shot. The NYPD’s appeal to the public included a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest.

At McDonald’s in Altoona, security cameras captured Mangione ordering from a kiosk, picking up his food, and sitting at a back corner table. He wiped down his table and remained seated for 25 minutes before police arrived. Bernard Pyles, a technician who maintains the restaurant’s cameras, testified about retrieving and editing footage for the investigation.

Mangione’s arrest came after a customer’s suspicion and the manager’s call, but the defense insists that the subsequent police actions—questioning and searching Mangione—were improper. Nearly two dozen supporters filled the back of the courtroom at the hearing, some wearing shirts with slogans like “Justice is not a spectacle.” The public’s interest is high, but the presiding judge has yet to decide whether the 911 audio and other evidence will be admitted at trial.

The Stakes: Life Sentence or Death Penalty?

Luigi Mangione, 27, faces grave consequences. Charged with second-degree murder in New York State Supreme Court, he could receive a life sentence if convicted. A separate federal case looms as well, where the possibility of the death penalty exists. Notably, earlier this year, Mangione’s defense scored a partial victory when Judge Carro dismissed two murder charges linked to terrorism, though the main murder charge remains.

During his extradition from Pennsylvania, Mangione was held under close supervision at SCI Huntingdon, a high-security prison, with correction officers intent on avoiding any “Epstein-style situation.” Tomas Rivers, one such officer and a former British military serviceman, testified about Mangione’s time in custody, recalling conversations about health care systems and Mangione’s expressed desire to “make a statement to the public.”

As the hearing continues, Mangione’s lawyers plan to call witnesses from the Altoona Police Department and present extensive body camera footage. The judge has reserved several days for arguments on whether the disputed testimony and evidence will be allowed.

The Mangione case exposes the tension between aggressive law enforcement and constitutional protections. With both prosecution and defense fiercely contesting evidence, the trial will test not only the facts but the integrity of the process itself. As the story unfolds, it raises a central question: In the search for justice, how do we balance the rights of the accused against the demands of public safety and accountability?