Notes Reveal Escape Plans in Case Against Man Charged With Killing UnitedHealthcare CEO

The material surfaced during a week-long pretrial hearing in New York, offering the clearest view yet of what investigators found when they arrested Mangione at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, in December 2024.

Prosecutors say the handwritten notes, maps, and survival instructions illustrate a methodical strategy to stay ahead of law enforcement in the days after Thompson was shot near a Manhattan hotel. Mangione’s attorneys, however, argue that the items should never reach a jury because officers lacked a warrant to search his backpack at the moment of arrest.

Detailed Lists Suggest an Attempt to Stay Mobile

The notes, shown in court for the first time this week, describe everything from grooming changes to travel routes through several U.S. cities. One list urged: “Keep momentum, FBI slower overnight.” Another directed: “Change hat, shoes, pluck eyebrows.”

Prosecutors say the items were retrieved from Mangione’s bag along with a 9 mm handgun matching the weapon used to kill Thompson, a loaded magazine, a silencer, a knife, fake identification, credit cards, a passport, flash drives, electronics, a protein bar, and basic travel supplies.

Investigators also presented a notebook containing similarly styled handwriting and a reference to an intent to “wack” a health insurance executive. The discovery of the notes and associated items was documented on body-worn camera footage released to the public for the first time on Tuesday.

Mangione’s defense team has not questioned whether their client wrote the notes. Instead, they contend that the initial search of the backpack violated his constitutional rights because officers did not have a warrant. Prosecutors maintain the check was permissible because officers feared the bag might contain an explosive device and later secured a formal warrant.

Short-Term Stop in Altoona, Long-Term Escape Plans Elsewhere

The lists suggest that Mangione, 27, intended to keep moving west after reaching Altoona, a city of roughly 44,000 located about 230 miles from New York City. A hand-drawn sketch connected potential destinations from Pittsburgh to Columbus, Cincinnati, Detroit, Indianapolis, and St. Louis.

One instruction read: “Check for red eyes,” referring to westbound transit from Pittsburgh toward Ohio. Another warned to “get off early,” signaling caution about staying on any single route for too long.

A separate set of notes dated “12/5” — the day after Thompson’s death — flagged a need to “buy black shoes (white stripes too distinctive).” Other lists urged spending hours out of view of surveillance cameras and using different forms of transportation to “Break CAM continuity.” One line read: “check reports for current situation,” which prosecutors believe referred to tracking media coverage of the nationwide manhunt.

The details have added new layers to a case that has already drawn national attention, in part because Thompson was targeted while walking to a company investor event on Dec. 4, 2024. Police say surveillance footage captured a masked gunman approaching him from behind before fleeing on foot. Photos released in the hours after the shooting first showed the suspect’s clothing and later a clearer image of his face, including his thick eyebrows — a feature the Altoona restaurant manager noticed when she called 911.

Evidence Traces His Movements in Hour-by-Hour Detail

Prosecutors also introduced a series of transit records showing how Mangione moved after the shooting. According to investigators, he traveled from New York to Newark, then to Philadelphia. Records shown in court included:

• A Philadelphia transit pass purchased at 1:06 p.m., roughly six hours after the attack.

• A Greyhound ticket bought under the alias “Sam Dawson,” departing Philadelphia at 6:30 p.m. and arriving in Pittsburgh around midnight.

A separate note dated “12/8” listed tasks such as purchasing a digital camera and accessories, buying water bottles and “hot meal,” and obtaining “trash bag(s).” Under “12/9,” when he was arrested, the list included “Sheetz,” masks, and “AAA bats.” The meaning of “AAA bats” was not clarified in court.

At the time of his arrest, Mangione was carrying a Sheetz hoagie and a loaf of Italian bread. Officers testified that he appeared drenched, and they speculated he had walked from Altoona’s bus station to the McDonald’s where he was found.

911 Call Led to His Arrest

The McDonald’s manager who alerted police reported that a customer bearing a strong resemblance to the wanted suspect was sitting alone in a back corner. Because the man was wearing a medical mask, she could primarily see his eyebrows — the same identifying feature seen in public alerts. She searched online for comparison photos before calling authorities.

Body-worn camera footage played in court showed officers discussing the possibility that the suspect had been walking in the rain before they arrived. Once detained, Mangione displayed concern for the caller. Altoona Police Officer Stephen Fox told the court that Mangione asked whether her name would be released, saying “It would be bad for her” and “there would be a lot of people that would be upset.”

At one point, Fox testified, Mangione stumbled while walking in shackles. The officer apologized, and Mangione reportedly remarked: “It’s OK, I’m going to have to get used to it.”

High-Profile Trial Ahead

Mangione, an Ivy League graduate from a wealthy Maryland family, has pleaded not guilty to state and federal murder charges. The ongoing pretrial hearing concerns only the state case, though his attorneys are making a similar effort to suppress evidence in the federal prosecution. Federal prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty.

The hearing will continue Thursday, marking its sixth day.