U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett said scheduling of the rest of the trial, including opening statements and testimony, is contingent on whether she allows prosecutors to seek the death penalty. It\u2019s one of several issues the judge is weighing.<\/p>\n
If the death penalty is still in play, the next phase of the trial will begin Jan. 11, 2027, Garnett said. That\u2019s more than four months after the start of jury selection. If it\u2019s not, opening statements will be held Oct. 13. Capital cases are typically more complex and take more time to prepare.<\/p>\n
Mangione, 27, has pleaded not guilty to federal and state murder charges, which carry the possibility of life in prison. The state trial has not been scheduled.<\/p>\n
Garnett set the dates as Mangione returned to court for a hearing on procedures governing the police seizure of his backpack after his Dec. 9, 2024, arrest in Altoona, Pennsylvania. The city is about 230 miles (about 370 kilometers) west of the Manhattan sidewalk where Thompson was killed five days earlier.<\/p>\n
Mangione\u2019s lawyers want Garnett to bar prosecutors from using certain items found in the backpack, including a gun police said matched the one used to kill Thompson and a notebook in which Mangione purportedly described his intent to \u201cwack\u201d a health insurance executive.<\/p>\n
Separately, Garnett is considering a defense request to bar prosecutors from seeking the death penalty. Mangione\u2019s lawyers argue that the charges enabling prosecutors to seek capital punishment are technically flawed and that the government prejudiced Mangione by publicly declaring its intent before obtaining an indictment.<\/p>\n
Friday\u2019s hearing is limited to the backpack issue, with just one witness testifying: Altoona Police Department Deputy Chief Nathan Snyder.<\/p>\n
Garnett called the hearing because she wanted to hear from a police official \u201cabout the established or standardized procedures in use\u201d at the time of Mangione\u2019s arrest \u201cfor securing, safeguarding, and, if applicable, inventorying the personal property of a person arrested in a public place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prosecutors said Snyder, who was promoted to the post three weeks ago, was not involved in Mangione\u2019s arrest, had no involvement in the Altoona police investigation of Mangione and has not had substantive conversations with officers who participated in the arrest about their actions that day.<\/p>\n
![\"Supporters](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/UnitedHealthCare_CEO_Killed_47082.jpg\")
Supporters of Luigi Mangione raise signs outside Manhattan federal court, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo\/Yuki Iwamura)<\/p>\n