NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Pluck eyebrows. Buy less conspicuous shoes. Take a bus or a train west toward Cincinnati and St. Louis. Move around late at night. Stay away from surveillance cameras.
A to-do list and travel plans found during Luigi Mangione鈥檚 arrest and revealed in court this week shed new light on the steps he may have taken 鈥� or planned to take 鈥� to avoid capture after UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson鈥檚 killing last year.
鈥淜eep momentum, FBI slower overnight,鈥� said one note. 鈥淐hange hat, shoes, pluck eyebrows,鈥� said another.
The notes, including a hand-drawn map and tactics for surviving on the lam, were shown on Monday at a pretrial hearing as Mangione鈥檚 bid to prevent prosecutors from using evidence seized during his Dec. 9, 2024, arrest at a McDonald鈥檚 in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
Excerpts of body-worn camera footage of the arrest, previously unseen by the press or the public, were released on Tuesday.
Police said they discovered the notes in Mangione鈥檚 backpack, along with a that prosecutors said matches the one used to kill Thompson five days earlier; a loaded gun magazine and silencer; and a notebook in similar handwriting which he purportedly described his intent to 鈥渨ack鈥� a health insurance executive.
Mangione鈥檚 lawyers haven’t disputed the authenticity of the notes or the provenance of the gun, pocket knife, fake ID, driver’s license, passport, credit cards, AirPods, protein bar, travel toothpaste, flash drives and other items seized from him and his backpack.
But they argue that anything found in the bag should be barred because police didn鈥檛 have a search warrant and lacked the grounds to justify a warrantless search. Prosecutors contend the search was legal 鈥� officers said they were checking for a bomb 鈥� and that police eventually obtained a warrant.
The notes, along with other evidence highlighted at the pretrial hearing, underscore that Mangione鈥檚 stop in Altoona, a city of about 44,000 people about 230 miles (370 kilometers) west of Manhattan, was only meant to be temporary.
One note said to check for 鈥渞ed eyes鈥� from Pittsburgh to Columbus, Ohio or part way to Cincinnati (“get off early,” it reads). The map drawn below shows lines linking those cities, as well as other possible destinations, including Detroit, Indianapolis and St. Louis.
, 50, was killed as he walked to a Manhattan hotel for his company鈥檚 investor conference on Dec. 4, 2024. Surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting him from behind and then fleeing the area. Over the next hours and days, police released photos of a suspect 鈥� first showing him in a mask and hooded coat and then his face and thick eyebrows.
Mangione, 27, has pleaded not guilty to state and federal murder charges. The pretrial hearing, which resumes for a sixth day on Thursday, applies only to the state case. His lawyers are making a similar push to exclude the evidence from his federal case, where prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
Among the notes revealed this week was one with a heading 鈥�12/5鈥� and a starred entry that said: 鈥渂uy black shoes (white stripes too distinctive).鈥�
Another, also written in to-do list style, suggested spending more than three hours away from surveillance cameras and using different modes of transportation to 鈥淏reak CAM continuity鈥� and avoid tracking. Below that, it said: 鈥渃heck reports for current situation,鈥� a possible reference to news reports about the search for Thompson鈥檚 killer.
According to prosecutors, Mangione fled to Newark, New Jersey, immediately after the shooting and took a train to Philadelphia. Among the evidence shown at the pretrial hearing was a Philadelphia transit pass purchased at 1:06 p.m. 鈥� a little more than six hours after the shooting 鈥� and a ticket for a Greyhound bus, booked under the name Sam Dawson, leaving Philadelphia at 6:30 p.m. and arriving in Pittsburgh at 11:55 p.m.
A note with the heading 鈥�12/8鈥� lists a number of tasks, including an apparent trip to Best Buy to purchase a digital camera and accessories, 鈥渉ot meal + water bottles,鈥� and 鈥渢rash bag(s).鈥� Under 鈥�12/9,鈥� the day of Mangione鈥檚 arrest, the note lists tasks including 鈥淪heetz,” an Altoona-based convenience store chain, 鈥渕asks鈥� and 鈥淎AA bats.鈥� Under 鈥淔uture TO DO,鈥� it listed 鈥渋ntel checkin鈥� and 鈥渟urvival kit.鈥�
Mangione had a Sheetz hoagie in his backpack when he was arrested, along with a loaf of Italian bread from a local deli, according to police officers testifying Monday and Tuesday. It had been raining, and the bag and items inside it were wet, the officers said. They were heard on body-worn camera footage played in court theorizing that Mangione had gotten soaked walking from the city鈥檚 bus station.
Police responded to the McDonald’s after a manager called 911 to relay concerns from customers who thought that Mangione, eating breakfast in a back corner, resembled the man wanted for killing Thompson. On the call, played in court, the manager could be heard saying that because Mangione was wearing a medical mask, she could only see his eyebrows and that she searched online for a photo of the suspect for comparison.
Altoona Police Officer Stephen Fox testified on Tuesday that Mangione, the Ivy League-educated scion of a wealthy Maryland family, expressed concern for the 911 caller’s wellbeing. Fox said Mangione asked if police had planned on releasing her name, which they didn’t. The officer recalled him saying: 鈥淚t would be bad for her” and 鈥渢here would be a lot of people that would be upset.鈥�
At another point, Fox said, a shackled Mangione stumbled while trying to keep up with the brisk-moving officer. Fox said he apologized and said, 鈥淚 forgot you were shackled.鈥�
He said Mangione responded: 鈥淚t鈥檚 OK, I鈥檓 going to have to get used to it.”
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
