Attorneys representing Luigi Mangione, the man accused of fatally shooting the UnitedHealthcare CEO last December, have filed a new court document claiming that Manhattan prosecutors unlawfully obtained Mangione’s medical records from his insurance provider.
In a letter submitted on Thursday, Mangione’s lawyers allege that the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office acquired over 120 pages of sensitive information from Aetna without notifying the court or the defense team. These documents reportedly include various medical diagnoses and specific complaints made by Mangione.
According to the defense, the prosecution bypassed the proper legal channels by compelling Aetna to hand over the records directly to the District Attorney’s Office instead of routing them through the court as required. The defense letter accuses the DA’s office of fabricating a court date — May 23, 2025 — and issuing a fraudulent subpoena that threatened contempt of court if Aetna did not comply. However, rather than submitting the records to the court, prosecutors allegedly instructed Aetna to send them straight to the DA’s office, deliberately excluding the court from the process to ensure they gained access to Mangione’s confidential medical files.
Mangione’s defense team also argues that the medical records obtained are irrelevant to the criminal charges he faces. Responding to the allegations, a spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office told CNN that prosecutors had requested only limited records from Aetna, and that any extra materials received were deleted once identified, with notice given to both the defense and the court. The DA’s office indicated it would provide a more detailed response in upcoming court documents.
Meanwhile, Aetna stated it complied properly with the subpoena and provided the requested records as required.
The defense has requested an evidentiary hearing and demands access to all communications between Aetna and the DA’s office regarding the subpoena.
Mangione is currently facing federal charges, including murder, with the possibility of the death penalty for the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges, both federal and state.
The high-profile shooting occurred in midtown Manhattan and triggered a multi-day manhunt ending in Pennsylvania. Authorities have revealed disturbing details from Mangione’s alleged writings and the crime scene, including bullets marked with words like “delay,” “deny,” and “depose.”
According to previous filings, Mangione’s diary shows a methodical and premeditated mindset leading up to the shooting. Roughly four months before the incident, he wrote that he felt confident and justified in his plans, explicitly targeting the insurance industry. An entry from August 15, 2024, states: “The target is insurance. It checks every box.”
Prosecutors have said Mangione was not insured by UnitedHealthcare from 2014 to 2024, but at the time of his arrest, investigators found a handwritten notebook expressing deep hostility toward the health insurance industry and wealthy executives.
On a personal note, Mangione suffered from chronic back pain and underwent surgery, according to a friend and online activity linked to him. His friend, R.J. Martin, revealed that Mangione had spinal surgery to address severe back issues, sharing an X-ray image showing extensive spinal hardware. Additionally, Mangione’s online profiles and posts suggest he had spondylolisthesis—a condition involving vertebral slippage—which caused him ongoing pain since childhood and worsened after a surfing accident.
Posts from a Reddit account resembling Mangione’s biographical details confirmed his back surgery in 2023, which reportedly improved his symptoms. However, there was no mention of insurance-related issues linked to his treatment in these posts.
It remains unclear if the medical records obtained from Aetna include details about Mangione’s back injury or surgery. However, the defense letter emphasizes that prosecutors reviewed at least some of his confidential, doctor-patient privileged, and HIPAA-protected medical information without proper authorization.
