Hidden heart-shaped notes were found in Luigi Mangione’s socks, prosecutors say

Lawyers for the man accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City gave him clothes for a hearing last month that included a hidden heart-shaped note touting his public support, prosecutors said Tuesday.

The note was found in a pair of argyle socks given to Luigi Mangione for his appearance in a Manhattan courtroom on Feb. 21 on state murder and terrorism charges, according to a letter from the Manhattan district attorney’s office.

“Know there are thousands of people wishing you luck,” the note said, according to the letter, which was addressed to the judge overseeing the case.

A second heart-shaped note was addressed to an unknown person named Joan, the filing says. The spokesperson for the defense is named Joan, but it’s unclear whether the note was intended for her. She couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday.

In a filing Wednesday, Mangione’s attorneys released photos of both notes and said they were inadvertently included with the clothing. One wasn’t meant for Mangione, according to the filing, while the other includes a second line not mentioned in the prosecution’s letter: “We are all rooting for you! Keep your head held high.”

Mangione, 26, has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism and other crimes.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has called the killing “a frightening, well-planned, targeted murder that was intended to cause shock and attention and intimidation.”

Mangione’s writings and social media posts indicate that he suffered a life-altering injury to his back before Dec. 4, when Thompson was shot and killed outside a midtown Manhattan hotel, authorities have said. Mangione wasn’t insured by UnitedHealthcare.

When Mangione was arrested five days later in Pennsylvania, he was found with a handwritten document that referred to the health care industry that said: “these parasites had it coming,” law enforcement sources have told NBC News.

The killing prompted discussions about the U.S. health care industry and drew dozens of supporters to the Feb. 21 hearing.

In Tuesday’s letter, senior trial counsel Joel Seidmann wrote that incarcerated defendants typically wear jail-issued clothing but that special accommodations were made to suit Mangione’s “fashion needs.” That benefit was “violated” when an investigator responsible for searching the bag of clothes discovered the notes, the filing says.

In the defense filing, Mangione’s lawyers said that wearing normal clothing for a court hearing isn’t a special accommodation and that many defendants are allowed to do so.

It isn’t clear whether the notes reached Mangione. According to the letter, he got the socks and tried them on before he removed them because “they did not look good,” according to the document.

Seidmann also urged the judge to deny Mangione’s request for a laptop computer, which he has sought to review evidence in the case.

“The defendant has ample access to desktop computers,” Seidmann wrote.

In a separate filing earlier this month, prosecutors revealed the contents of the backpack Mangione was found with in Pennsylvania.

Among the items were zip ties, duct tape, a black firearm, a Glock magazine, a silencer and more than a dozen 9 mm rounds, the filing states.

Mangione, who is being held in federal jail in Brooklyn, faces a possible prison sentence of life without the possibility of parole if he is convicted. He was also charged with the federal crimes of stalking, murder through use of a firearm and a firearms offense, which include the possibility of the death penalty.