NEW YORK (TNND) — Luigi Mangione is back in court on Tuesday for the second day of a hearing aimed at barring New York prosecutors from using evidence they say links him to the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

The pretrial hearing for Mangione’s state case began on Monday with prosecutors playing surveillance videos of Thompson’s death on Dec 4, 2024, and Mangione’s arrest at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s as police questioned him.

Mangione’s defense is requesting that Judge Gregory Carro block prosecutors from using evidence collected in his backpack and statements he made at the time of his arrest.

Key evidence – including a 3D printed gun and alleged journal writings – was found in his backpack. According to prosecutors, Mangione described in his notebook his intent to “wack” a health insurance executive.

Mangione, 27, has pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of murder, including murder as an act of terrorism, and is being held in a Brooklyn federal jail. The terrorism charges were dismissed in September by a New York judge, but Mangione is still charged with second-degree murder.

If convicted in state court, the second-degree murder charge carries a potential penalty of 15 years to life in prison, with the possibility of parole after 25 years.

The next hearing in the federal case is scheduled for Jan. 9.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi directed federal prosecutors in April to seek the death penalty against Mangione, following through on the president’s campaign promise to vigorously pursue capital punishment.

Five witnesses testified on Monday, including a Pennsylvania prison officer who said Mangione told him that at the time of his arrest he had a backpack with foreign currency and a 3D-printed pistol.

Another prison officer said his superintendent told him Mangione was being held under constant watch because the facility “did not want an Epstein-style situation,” referring to Jeffrey Epstein’s 2019 jail suicide.

More law enforcement officers are expected to take the witness stand on Tuesday.

Defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo told a judge in an unrelated matter last week that Manhattan prosecutors could call more than two dozen witnesses. Court officials said the hearings could last more than a week.

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Editor’s note: The Associated Press contributed to this article.