How Luigi Mangione's legal defence could take shape
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Forensic and ballistic evidence that police say ties the accused murderer of healthcare insurance CEO Brian Thompson to the crime scene will make it difficult for his lawyers to mount a defence, former prosecutors and other legal experts say.
Luigi Mangione, 26, was arrested in Pennsylvania on Monday after a days-long, multi-state manhunt ended at a McDonalds in the town of Altoona.
New York authorities say fingerprints and shell casings link him to the crime scene.
His lawyer, Thomas Dickey, earlier told local media he had not "seen any evidence yet" implicating his client.
He said Mr Mangione would plead not guilty to the charges he faces in Pennsylvania, including firearms charges.
In New York, he has been charged with second-degree murder over Mr Thompson's killing and it is not clear how he would plead. He is currently being held in a state prison in Pennsylvania where he is fighting extradition to face that murder charge. The legal battle over his extradition could potentially take more than a month to resolve, officials said.
But legal experts told the BBC that his efforts to contest his extradition to New York are unlikely to be successful. They could, however, provide his defence with a glimpse into the state's evidence against him.
"I don't even know if this is him," his lawyer, Mr Dickey, said in a recent interview with US media outlet NewsNation, referring to images of Mr Thompson's killer.
"We're going to test those waters and give the government a chance to bring some evidence forward," he said.