Fist-pumping Luigi Mangione’s backpack had bullets wrapped in ‘wet’ underwear, court hears, as handwritten checklists revealed
Bullets wrapped in “wet” underwear were found in Luigi Mangione’s backpack, and handwritten notes were found on the accused assassin, a court has heard.
Bullets wrapped in “wet” underwear were found in Luigi Mangione’s backpack following his arrest, a Pennsylvania cop testified on Monday — as Manhattan prosecutors unveiled handwritten notes found on the accused assassin, including one that said “pluck eyebrows”.
Christy Wasser, of the Altoona Police Department, testified about the bizarre discovery during day four of marathon evidence suppression hearings in the sensational case, where Mangione is accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a Midtown street, the New York Post reports.
Wasser described finding the wet, gray Hanes underwear in Mangione’s bag after he was busted at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, “and when I opened it up, it was a magazine,” which was fully loaded.
As cops pulled the bullets out of the bag, one officer could be heard saying, “Damn dude, it’s f – king him – 100 per cent,” according to bodycam footage played in Manhattan Supreme Court.
It’s unclear why the underwear was damp.
Authorities also found several notes in Mangione’s belongings when he was taken into custody on December 9, 2024, including one that reminded him to “pluck eyebrows” and a hand-drawn map of Pittsburgh, including possible escape routes, according to Manhattan prosecutors.
The eyebrows note had Ohio cities listed, such as Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati, jotted down on it, too, said Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Joel Seidemann.
Photos released by the district attorney’s office over the weekend showed a checklist Mangione also had that included a trip to Best Buy and items like a USB 256 flash drive, a digital camera and a light source next to the store’s name and under a December 8 date.
“Hot meal + water bottles” and trash bags were also scribbled in, according to the photo.
“Intel check in” next to December 9 and “survival kit” were written down under “Future TO DO.”
The pre-trial hearings are being held as a judge weighs whether to allow or toss the evidence Altoona cops discovered on Mangione after nabbing him, including the gun he allegedly used in the execution of the married father of two.
His defense team is also fighting to bar several statements Mangione made to authorities from being heard by jurors at his trial.
Before the hearing resumed Monday, Mangione flashed a fist pump as he looked directly into the camera and listened to one of his attorneys, Karen Friedman Agnofilo, at the defense table.
Mangione, 27, is accused of carrying out the cold-blooded execution of Thompson on December 4, 2024, before he was captured five days later in the Pennsylvania city about 100 miles east of Pittsburgh.
More photos released by prosecutors showed Mangione also had a small flashlight, a USB drive attached to a silver necklace, a pocket knife and thousands of dollars in $100 bills on him when Altoona authorities hauled him into custody.
He also had a bus ticket with the name “Sam Dawson” on it that was supposed to travel from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh on December 4 — the same day the Ivy League school grad allegedly gunned down Thompson.
It was not clear if Mangione bought the ticket himself.
Sam Dawson is the name of the intellectually disabled titular character played by Sean Penn in the 2001 film I Am Sam.
Court resumed this week after Mangione was too sick with an unspecified illness to make a court appearance on Friday.
Mangione, who also had a federal case hanging over his head, has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
This article originally appeared in the New York Post and has been reproduced with permission.
Originally published as Fist-pumping Luigi Mangione’s backpack had bullets wrapped in ‘wet’ underwear, court hears, as handwritten checklists revealed
