Luigi Mangione defense attorney, Thomas Dickey insists there is no evidence linking his client to shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson as the NYPD says recovered fingerprints on a water bottle and discarded candy wrap near the crime scene match those of Ivy League 26 year old.
Fingerprints found on a water bottle and KIND bar wrapper discarded near the scene of the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, 50, in NYC last week, match those of accused killer Luigi Mangione, according to police sources.
The prints recovered from a water bottle and a cellphone were smudged, but police sources said they appear to match the prints sent from Altoona, Pennsylvania, where Mangione, 26, was arrested on Monday.
If confirmed by detectives, it would represent the first forensic tie between the murder and 26-year-old Mangione, CNN reported.
Is recovered notebook admission of guilt?
Police previously said that the suspect gunman had visited a Starbucks before the shooting and purchased a water bottle and two protein bars. Deputies recovered a video showing where those items were discarded, and both were collected as evidence.
Mangione at the time of Monday’s arrest, allegedly had a spiral notebook detailing plans about how to eventually kill the CEO, according to law enforcement officials.
‘What do you do? You whack the CEO at the annual parasitic bean-counter convention,’ one passage allegedly stated according to ABC News.
The notebook also makes reference to the Unabomber, a homegrown terrorist whose manifesto Mangione had glowingly reviewed in Goodreads. The writings in the notebook stated using explosives could ‘risk innocents,’ according to the officials.
Detectives are still examining Mangione’s writings but are considering the contents of the notebook to represent a confession, sources said.
Pennsylvania investigators have also started interviewing members of Mangione’s family.
New York police have not said whether the three D ghost gun recovered on Mangione’s person during Monday’s arrest in Pennsylvania was considered a match for the one used in the Midtown killing, but said it looks similar and that it would undergo ballistic testing.
Luigi Mangione lawyer insists ‘no evidence’ exists linking him to slaying of UnitedHealthcare CEO
The latest revelations follow Mangione lawyer, Thomas Dickey stating during a Tuesday night press conference that he hadn’t seen any evidence that his client is guilty of the caught-on-camera slaying.
Appearing on Good Morning America on Wednesday, Dickey re-asserted that there was ‘no evidence,’ linking his client to the killing.
Addressing the recovered 3-D gun, Dickety stated, that ‘a lot of guns look the same.’
‘I have not been made aware of any evidence that links the gun that was found on his person to the crime so these are things that we’re looking to see,’ Dickey said.
‘A lot of guns look the same,’ Dickey reiterated. ‘If you brought a gun in and said, ‘Well, it looks like that,’ I don’t even know if that evidence would be admissible. So I would argue it wouldn’t be given much weight.’
‘Today’s another day,’ he added. ‘We’re looking forward to beginning our inquiry as to what evidence may or may not be out there.’
The Ivy League graduate was arrested on Monday in Altoona, Pennsylvania, and charged in Pennsylvania for allegedly possessing an untraceable ‘ghost’ gun.
Mangione plans to challenge his extradition from Pennsylvania to New York, where the 26 year old faces a charge of second-degree murder in connection with Thompson’s Dec. 4 shooting death outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel.
Luigi Mangione to plead not guilty amid ‘controversial’ evidence
‘He has constitutional rights and that’s what he’s doing’ in challenging the interstate transfer, Dickey told reporters on Tuesday.
Mangione according to his defence attorney, plans to plead not guilty to the charges in Pennsylvania. Dickey said he anticipated Mangione would also plead not guilty to the second-degree murder charge in New York.
Dickey also cautioned about anyone speculating on the case should take the potential evidence ‘in its entirety,’ not taking pieces of writing or other evidence ‘out of context.’
‘People put out certain things, parts of different things,’ he said. ‘I think any lawyer involved in this situation would want to see it all.’
When Mangione was arrested on Monday, he had ‘written admissions about the crime’ with him, according to a filed New York arrest warrant.
Mangione’s writings, stated, ‘I do apologize for any strife of traumas but it had to be done. Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming.’
He claimed that the U.S. has the most expensive health care system in the world, but ranks about No. 42 in life expectancy. He said UnitedHealthcare ‘has grown and grown, but as our life expectancy? No the reality is, these [indecipherable] have simply gotten too powerful, and they continue to abuse our country for immense profit.’
Whether Mangione has a personal connection to UnitedHealthcare is unknown, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said it will seek a governor’s warrant to try to force Mangione’s extradition. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement that she’ll sign a request for the governor’s warrant ‘to ensure this individual is tried and held accountable.’
A judge in Pennsylvania ordered Mangione held without bail on Tuesday.
