Attorneys for Luigi Mangione accused the Manhattan DA and the NYPD’s chief of detectives of not offering evidence of his mother’s alleged statement that killing United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson was something she could see her son do, according to court documents.
During a December 2024 news conference, Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny referenced information the FBI received from San Francisco police, according to the court filing made public Tuesday.
A police sergeant had reached out to the FBI after believing the murder suspect caught in pictures released by the NYPD bore a resemblance to Mangione, the filing recalled.
Kenny spoke of an alleged conversation between Mangione’s mother and San Francisco police, where she reportedly suggested that she could see her son gunning down the Thompson, the document said.
“They had a conversation where she didn’t indicate that it was her son in the photograph, but she said it might be something that she could see him doing,” Kenny told reporters, according to the document.
Mangione’s mother had filed a missing persons report for her son on Nov. 18, 2024.
The accused killer’s defense attorneys now claim that prosecutors have provided no evidence that Mangione’s mother made such comments.
“To date, there has been no documentation provided in discovery that confirms the Chief of Detectives’ statement as to Mrs. Mangione’s alleged statement,” defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo wrote in a filing Tuesday.
“In fact, all the discovery provided so far indicates that she did not make such a statement,” Agnifilo wrote.
“If it is true that Mrs. Mangione never made this statement, then it is shocking and unconscionable that the District Attorney’s Office and the NYPD have never corrected this highly prejudicial false statement,” she maintained.
The filing referenced several media reports that published his mother’s statement, including the recently published novel “Luigi: The Making and The Meaning,” by John H Richardson.
“The Chief of Detectives’ unfounded claims continue to be cited, as it was recently repeated in a reckless novel that was published on November 4, 2025,” Agnifilo wrote.
Mangione’s team of defense attorneys implored the judge to declare the Manhattan DA’s office certification of compliance with information regarding Mangione’s mother as insufficient, the filing said.
Prosecutors are expected to respond in a future filing.
Mangione, 27, has pleaded not guilty to federal and state charges of murdering Thompson outside a hotel hosting the insurance giant’s annual investor conference in Midtown Manhattan.
The Ivy League grad was arrested in Altoona, Pa., after a five-day manhunt.
The federal government says it is seeking the death penalty in its own case.
Mangione is due back in court for the federal case on Dec. 5.
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