December 3, 2025 • 22 mins
Reid Carter covers three blockbuster trials dominating the week. Luigi Mangione's defense argues cops illegally searched his backpack without a warrant - trying to exclude the gun and journal where he allegedly wrote about wanting to "wack" a health insurance executive. Michael Jordan's presence at his NASCAR antitrust trial caused chaos as jurors admitted they couldn't be fair because "I like Mike" - while co-owner Denny Hamlin broke down crying on the stand describing how his dying father sacrificed everything for racing. Brian Walshe's absurd defense claims his wife Ana just died suddenly in bed - ignoring his Google searches for "how to dismember a body."
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Join our new FB groups page here. Take the poll!
Join the Celebrity Trials community on social media! We're building a passionate group of true crime enthusiasts who love diving deep into the most shocking cases in America.
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram by searching "Celebrity Trials Podcast" on either platform.
You'll get exclusive behind-the-scenes content, breaking news updates on cases we're covering, and early alerts when new episodes drop. Our social media is where Reid Carter's hottest takes live, including reactions that don't make it into the show.
But more importantly, it's where YOU come in. Share your theories, debate the verdicts, and connect with fellow listeners who are just as obsessed with justice as you are. Did the jury get it right? What questions do you still have? Your comments and insights often shape future episodes.
We cover the trials that matter, but our community makes the conversation unforgettable. Come for Reid's signature cynical commentary, stay for the incredible discussions with thousands of true crime fans who get it.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Callarogu Shark Media.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Good morning, I'm reed Carter. Wednesday, December third, twenty twenty five.
Three major trials consuming all the oxygen in the courtroom
this week.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Let me tell you where we are. Manhattan.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Luigi Mangioni is fighting to suppress the most damaging evidence
against him. The gun prosecutors say killed United Healthcare CEO
Brian Thompson and the journal where he allegedly wrote about
wanting to whack a health insurance executive. His lawyers claimed
cops searched his backpack without a warrant at that McDonald's
in Pennsylvania. If they win, prosecutors lose their murder weapon
(00:45):
and their motive.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Hearings expected to last more than a week.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Charlotte, North Carolina, Michael Jordan showed up for his antitrust
lawsuit against NASCAR and immediately wrecked jury selection. One potential
juror said he could couldn't be fair because I like Mike.
Another said he grew up with Jordan posters on his walls. Meanwhile,
Jordan's co owner Denny Hamlin broke down sobbing on the
witness stand, describing his dying father's sacrifices. The three time
(01:13):
Daytona five hundred winner says NASCAR is a monopolistic bully
that leaves teams no choice but to lose money or quit.
And Dedham, Massachusetts. Brian Walsh's murder trial for the death
of his wife Anna entered day three his defense. She
just died suddenly in bed on New Year's Day twenty
twenty three. He panicked, That's why he googled best way
(01:34):
to dispose of a body and how to dismember. That's
why surveillance video shows him buying a hacksaw hatchet and
cleaning supplies. That's why her DNA ended up on those
tools found in a dumpster. Make it make sense. I'm
Reid Carter today. Three trials, a CEO killer's constitutional gamble,
a basketball legend disrupting justice, and the most absurd defense
(01:57):
I've heard in months. This is celebrity trials. Let's start
in Manhattan Criminal Court. The people of New York versus
Luigi Mangione. December fourth, twenty twenty four, One year ago tomorrow,
Brian Thompson, fifty years old, CEO of United Healthcare, walking
(02:20):
to the Hilton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan Annual Investor Conference
scheduled for later that morning. A masked gunman approached from behind.
Three shots. Thompson fell. The shooter fled on a bicycle.
Five days later, December ninth, twenty twenty four, Altoona, Pennsylvania,
(02:41):
McDonald's restaurant, Luigi Mangone, twenty seven years old, eating breakfast
wearing a Beanie medical face mask covering his face. A
customer thought he looked like the suspect in the CEO killing,
told the manager. The manager searched online, compared the photos,
called nine one one. It looks like the suspect. I
(03:01):
can only see his eyebrows, but it looks like him.
Two officers approached Mangioni at his table, asked for identification.
He allegedly said his name was Mark Rosario, same name
prosecutors say he used to check into a Manhattan hostel
days before the shooting. Officers searched his backpack, found a
nine millimeter handgun, ammunition, fake identification, and a notebook. In
(03:26):
that notebook, according to prosecutors, Mangioni wrote about his intent
to whack a health insurance executive, described the deadly greed
fueled health insurance cartel, wrote that killing an industry executive
conveys a greedy bastard that had it coming. Mangione was arrested,
charged with first degree murder in New York. Federal murder
(03:50):
charges followed, prosecutors seeking the death penalty. But here's the problem.
Did police have the right to search that backpack? This week,
Mangoni's defense team is fighting to suppress the most damaging evidence,
the gun, the notebook, some of his statements to police,
all of it. Monday, the hearings began. Mangioni sat in
(04:11):
the courtroom, wearing a gray suit instead of jail clothes,
watched stoically as prosecutors played surveillance footage of the Thompson shooting,
then footage from that McDonald's, previously unseen by the public,
showing officers approaching him at breakfast. He pressed a finger
to his lips, made a fist around a pen in
his right hand. Listen to the nine to one one
(04:33):
call from the McDonald's manager describing him sitting there in
his mask and beanie. Defense attorney Mark Agnifilo argues the
backpack search was unconstitutional, no warrant, no probable cause. Officers
didn't have the right to open that bag and dig
through it. An officer searching the backpack was captured on
body camera saying she was checking to make sure there
(04:56):
wasn't a bomb in the bag. Mangione's lawyers call that
an excuse designed to cover up an illegal warrantless search.
Here's the Fourth Amendment question. When can police search your
belongings without a warrant? Generally they can't. There are exceptions
if you consent, if they have probable cause to believe
there's evidence of a crime, if there's an immediate safety concern,
(05:18):
like a bomb. Prosecutors argue that's exactly what happened. Officers
had reasonable suspicion Mangione was the Manhattan shooter. Checking the
bag for weapons was justified for officers safety. Everything they
found was in plain view once they opened it. Defense
says that's a post talk justification. Officers didn't actually believe
(05:39):
there was a bomb they were fishing, and they didn't
tell Mangione he had the right to remain silent before
asking questions, like when he allegedly gave the fake name
Mark Rosario. If the judge agrees with the defense, what
happens the gun gets excluded. The murder weapon gone. Prosecutors
can't show it to the jury, can't prove it match
(06:01):
the shell casings found at the Thompson shooting scene.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
The notebook gets excluded.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
All those damning statements about whacking an executive, about the
insurance cartel, about his planning and motivation gone. Jurors never
see it. That's the ballgame. Without the gun, prosecutors have
a circumstantial case surveillance footage of a masked man DNA
on a water bottle, but no weapon. Without the notebook,
(06:28):
they have no motive evidence beyond speculation. Mangione already got
the terrorism charges thrown out in September. His lawyers are
methodically attacking the prosecution's case piece by piece. This suppression
hearing is the most important battle yet. Court officials say
the hearings could last more than a week. More than
two dozen witnesses expected. Defense attorney Agnafilo told a judge
(06:51):
last week that Manhattan prosecutors have a lot of explaining
to do about that McDonald's search. A few dozen Mangoni
supporters watched from the back of the courtroom Monday. One
wore a green T shirt that said, without a warrant,
it's not a search, it's a violation. Another woman held
a Luigi video game character doll. The support for Mangioni
(07:11):
remains bizarre. People treating an alleged assassin like a folk hero,
romanticizing murder because they don't like health insurance companies. Brian
Thompson was fifty years old, married father of two from Minnesota,
shot in the back walking to work. No trial, no jury,
no defense, just execution on a Manhattan sidewalk. Mangioni has
(07:32):
pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges. His state
trial could result in life in prison. His federal trial
could result in death. Neither trial has been scheduled yet.
First the judge has to decide what evidence the jury
gets to see. Tomorrow marks one year since Brian Thompson
was killed. The hearings will continue right through the anniversary.
(07:55):
Justice moves slowly.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
But it moves.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
We'll be right back with Michael Jordan causing chaos in
his NASCAR antitrust trial. Jurors couldn't stop talking about their bulls, posters,
and Denny Hamlin's tearful testimony about his dying father. Welcome
(08:21):
back to celebrity trials.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
I'm reed.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Carter Charlotte, North Carolina, Federal Court twenty three eleven Racing
and Front Row Motorsports versus NASCAR antitrust trial that could
demolish stock car racing as we know it. Monday, the
trial opened and immediately descended into chaos because Michael Jordan
showed up, the sixth time NBA champion, the Basketball Hall
(08:44):
of Famer, the man whose sneakers still sell for hundreds
of dollars. He walked into that federal court room and
sat in the gallery near his co owner Denny Hamlin,
and jury selection went sideways. One potential juror was dismissed
because he said he couldn't be impartial. His reason, I
like Mike. Another juror admitted he grew up with Michael
(09:06):
Jordan posters on his walls gone. A third said he
was a North Carolina fan, Jordan's alma mater, but noted
the Tar Heels football team isn't doing too well right now.
Jordan shook his head and laughed, even in a court room,
even as a spectator, even sitting silently in the gallery.
(09:26):
Michael Jordan is a distraction. His presence alone is enough
to buy us a jury. But the substance of this
trial matters twenty three eleven Racing co owned by Jordan
and Hamlin and front Row Motorsports are suing NASCAR for
antitrust violations. They claim NASCAR is a monopolistic bully that
forces teams to accept unfair revenue sharing or get out
(09:49):
of the sport. Denny Hamlin was the first witness, three
time daytona five hundred winner, seventeen year NASCAR veteran, and
he broke down crying on the stand when attorneys asked
how he got into racing. Hamlin started weeping, had to
stop and compose himself. He disclosed last month that his
father is dying. Said on the stand he was emotional
(10:12):
because his dad is not in great health. We got
to when I was about twenty and a decision had
to be made. I could keep racing or go out
and work for my dad's trailer business. Hamlin's family sacrificed
everything for his racing career. Now he owns a team,
and he says NASCAR's system makes it nearly impossible to survive.
(10:32):
Here's the economics. It costs twenty million dollars just to
bring a single car to the track for a thirty
eight race season. That's before overhead, before driver's salary, before
business operations, just getting on the track. The current charter
system guarantees team's twelve point five million dollars in annual
revenue per chartered car. Sounds like a lot, But if
(10:54):
it cost twenty million just to race, teams are losing
money before they pay anyone. Plaintiffs attorney Jeffrey Kessler told
the court that a NASCAR Commission's study found seventy five
percent of teams lost money in twenty twenty four. Over
a three year period, almost four hundred million dollars was
paid to the France family trust. That's the family that
owns NASCAR. A twenty twenty three Goldman Sachs evaluation found
(11:18):
NASCAR worth five billion dollars. What the evidence is going
to show is mister France ran this for the benefit
of his family at the expense of the teams in sport,
Kessler argued. Hamlin testified that eleven of the first nineteen
chartered teams are no longer in business. All three charters
twenty three eleven purchased came from teams that ceased operations.
(11:42):
He paid four point seven million dollars for the first
charter thirteen point five million dollars for the second and
twenty eight million dollars for the third, acquired late last year,
even knowing this litigation was pending. The price concerned him.
But building a competitive team requires multiple charters, and there's
nowhere else to race at this level. So why would
(12:03):
these people do this if you are just going to
lose money because NASCAR isn't giving you a fair deal,
Kessler asked rhetorically, because you love stock car racing and
there's nowhere else to do it. That's the antitrust argument.
NASCAR has a monopoly on top level American stock car racing.
(12:24):
Teams have no alternative except NASCAR's terms, or don't race.
The France family extracts billions while teams go bankrupt. NASCAR's defense,
they built this sport from nothing. The France family built
NASCAR from nothing. They are an American success story. Defense
attorney Johnny Stevenson said in opening statements, They've done it
(12:46):
through hard work over seventy five years. That's the kind
of effort that doesn't deserve a lawsuit. That's the kind
of effort that deserves admiration. NASCAR argues the charter system
created one point five billion dollars in equity for the
thirty six chartered teams. Before charters, teams raced open with
no guarantee they'd make the field or earn payouts. The
(13:07):
current system provides stability. The guaranteed twelve point five million
dollars per car is an increase from nine million under
the previous agreement. NASCAR says teams are better off now
than before, but twenty three to eleven in front Row
refused to sign the new charter agreements that triggered this lawsuit.
Their charters are being held by NASCAR. They're racing this
(13:28):
season under protest. If they lose, their charters could be
sold to other buyers, including private equity firms interested in
the sport. The stakes are enormous. A NASCAR victory could
put twenty three to eleven in front Row out of business,
their six combined cars gone. Jordan's racing venture. Over a
victory for the teams, the judge has power to unravel
(13:50):
a monopoly. Nothing is off the table, ordering a sale
of NASCAR, dismantling the charter system, restructuring how revenue gets distributed.
The care has been churning through hearings for more than
a year. Other NASCAR teams begged both sides to settle.
A federal judge helped mediate a two day summit in October.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
It failed.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
Now twelve jurors will decide the future of American stock
car racing, assuming they can stop thinking about Michael Jordan Dedham, Massachusetts,
Norfolk Superior Court, Commonwealth versus Brian Walshee murder trial for
(14:35):
the death of his wife Anna. January first, twenty twenty three,
New Year's Day. Anna Walshey, thirty nine years old, a
real estate executive, was last seen at her Massachusetts home
following a New Year's Eve dinner with her husband and
a friend. Her body has never been found, but prosecutors
say Brian Walshey, fifty years old, murdered her that day,
(14:56):
spent the next several days trying to cover it up,
only reported her missing on January fourth, after her employer
called because she hadn't shown up for work This week.
The trial finally began, and Brian Walshey's defense strategy is
something else. His lawyer, Larry Tipton, told the jury Anna
(15:16):
just died suddenly in bed. Brian found her un panicked
when he entered the bedroom and began to get into bed.
He sensed something was wrong. He nudged Anna, his wife.
She didn't respond. He nudged her again, a little harder.
She didn't respond. He nudged her now in a panicked
and frantic reaction, to where she actually rolled off the bed. Sudden,
(15:39):
unexplained death. That's the defense. Anna was alive one minute,
dead the next. No murder, just tragedy. There's just one
problem with that theory. Actually, there are dozens of problems.
Let's start with Brian's Internet search history. Prosecutors say that
starting on the day Anna disappeared, Brian made multiple searches
(16:02):
on his devices dismemberment and best ways to dispose of
a body. How long before a body starts to smell hacksaw?
Best tool to dismember, best way to dispose of a body?
How long for someone missing to inherit? How long missing
to be dead? Can you throw away body parts? Is
it possible to clean DNA off a knife? Best way
(16:22):
to dispose of body parts after murder? Searches about cleaning
blood with ammonia bleach and hydrogen peroxide. Google search history
is forever. Apparently, criminals still haven't learned that if Anna
just died suddenly in bed, a tragic natural death. Why
was Brian immediately searching for how to dismember a body?
Why was he researching how long it takes for someone
(16:44):
missing to be declared dead for inheritance purposes? But wait,
it gets worse. Surveillance video shows a man matching Brian's
description purchasing four hundred fifty dollars in cleaning supplies and
tarps on January second, buying bandages, candles, uggs, a mop,
a bucket, and a hatchet. A hatchet for cleaning up
(17:04):
after your wife's sudden natural death. More surveillance video shows
a man resembling Brian throwing what appeared to be heavy
trash bags into a dumpster not far from their home.
Investigators searched a trash processing facility near his mother's home.
Found bags containing a hatchet, hammer, shears, hacksaw, towels, a
(17:25):
protective TIVEX suit, cleaning agents, a prod of purse, boots
like the ones Anna was last seen wearing, and a
COVID vaccination card with her name. The Massachusetts State Crime
Laboratory examined the items for DNA found Anna's DNA on
the hatchet on the hacksaw on other items found Both
Anna and Brian's DNA on the tivex suit, her DNA
(17:49):
on a hacksaw found in a dumpster. If she died
naturally in bed, how did her DNA get on dismemberment
tools found in the trash. The defense says, Brian panic.
He never thought anyone would believe Anna was alive one
minute and dead the next. All he could think about
was his three boys. What would happen to them if
(18:09):
police thought he did something bad to Anna? So instead
of calling nine to one pint one, instead of calling
a doctor, instead of doing what any normal person would
do when their spouse die suddenly, he allegedly dismembered her body,
disposed of the pieces, bought cleaning supplies, searched for how
(18:29):
to get away with murder, and waited three days to
report her missing. That's the defense. Panic made him do it.
Love for his children made him chop up his wife
and throw her in dumpsters. Make it make sense. Here's
more context the defense has to explain. At the time
of Anna's death, Brian was on house arrest, awaiting sentencing
for a separate fraud case. He'd pleaded guilty to selling
(18:52):
fake Andy Warhol paintings. Already a convicted criminal, already facing
prison time, Anna had taken out two point seven million
dollars in life insurance policies. Brian was the sole beneficiary,
and court documents reveal Anna was having an affair, told
a friend she planned to leave her husband, had a
romantic relationship with a man named William Fastow, who helped
(19:15):
her buy a townhouse in Washington, d C. Where she worked.
Brian claimed in interviews with police that he knew nothing
about the affair. That Anna left for work on January first,
between six and seven am, that she texted him her
plane had landed in d C. That he hadn't heard
from her after that. Her employer said there was no
work emergency, no record she ever got on a plane.
(19:36):
Her phone last interacted with Verizon on January second, at
three a m near the Walshey home in Cohasset, Massachusetts.
She never left because she was already dead. The trial
has a complication. Former Massachusetts State Police trooper Michael Procter
was involved in the investigation. If that name sounds familiar,
it should. Proctor was the lead investigator in the Karen
(19:59):
Read case. He was fired for sending offensive and sexist
texts about read his credibility is destroyed. Defense attorneys have
been fighting to access records from Proctor's involvement in this case.
If Proctor touched this investigation, expect the defense to attack
every piece of evidence he handled. Brian Walshee pleaded guilty
to two charges just before trial began, misleading a police
(20:23):
officer and conveyance of a human body. Sentencing on those
charges after the murder trial concludes. He's already admitted he lied,
already admitted he disposed of a body. The only question
left is whether he killed her or just happened to
find her dead and then dismembered her out of panic.
Anna Walshe was thirty nine years old, Serbian immigrant real
(20:45):
estate executive, mother of three young children, now in state custody.
Made over three hundred thousand dollars annually, had investment properties,
had a life, a career, a future. Her body has
never been found, but her DNA was found on tools
designed for cutting through flesh and bone. Tools Her husband
(21:07):
allegedly purchased tools found in trash bags he allegedly threw away.
Someone has to say her name. Anna Walshe thirty nine
years old, gone your tax dollars at work. That's Celebrity
Trials for Wednesday, December third, twenty twenty five. Luigi Mangone
fighting to suppress the gun and journal prosecutors say prove
(21:30):
he murdered Brian Thompson. Hearings continuing through the one year
anniversary of the CEO's assassination Tomorrow. Michael Jordan disrupting jury
selection just by existing, Denny Hamlin crying on the stand
about his dying father, NASCAR's entire business model on trial,
and Brian Walshey asking a jury to believe his wife
(21:50):
just died suddenly in bed. That's why he googled how
to dismember a body. That's why her DNA was on
a hacksaw and a dumpster. Panic. Three trials, three very
different defenses, one common thread. Everybody thinks they're smarter than
the evidence. I'm reed, Carter. Tomorrow updates on all three
(22:10):
trials and the first anniversary of Brian Thompson's murder. This
is Celebrity Trials.
Callarogu Shark Media.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Good morning, I'm reed Carter. Wednesday, December third, twenty twenty five.
Three major trials consuming all the oxygen in the courtroom
this week.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Let me tell you where we are. Manhattan.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Luigi Mangioni is fighting to suppress the most damaging evidence
against him. The gun prosecutors say killed United Healthcare CEO
Brian Thompson and the journal where he allegedly wrote about
wanting to whack a health insurance executive. His lawyers claimed
cops searched his backpack without a warrant at that McDonald's
in Pennsylvania. If they win, prosecutors lose their murder weapon
(00:45):
and their motive.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Hearings expected to last more than a week.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Charlotte, North Carolina, Michael Jordan showed up for his antitrust
lawsuit against NASCAR and immediately wrecked jury selection. One potential
juror said he could couldn't be fair because I like Mike.
Another said he grew up with Jordan posters on his walls. Meanwhile,
Jordan's co owner Denny Hamlin broke down sobbing on the
witness stand, describing his dying father's sacrifices. The three time
(01:13):
Daytona five hundred winner says NASCAR is a monopolistic bully
that leaves teams no choice but to lose money or quit.
And Dedham, Massachusetts. Brian Walsh's murder trial for the death
of his wife Anna entered day three his defense. She
just died suddenly in bed on New Year's Day twenty
twenty three. He panicked, That's why he googled best way
(01:34):
to dispose of a body and how to dismember. That's
why surveillance video shows him buying a hacksaw hatchet and
cleaning supplies. That's why her DNA ended up on those
tools found in a dumpster. Make it make sense. I'm
Reid Carter today. Three trials, a CEO killer's constitutional gamble,
a basketball legend disrupting justice, and the most absurd defense
(01:57):
I've heard in months. This is celebrity trials. Let's start
in Manhattan Criminal Court. The people of New York versus
Luigi Mangione. December fourth, twenty twenty four, One year ago tomorrow,
Brian Thompson, fifty years old, CEO of United Healthcare, walking
(02:20):
to the Hilton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan Annual Investor Conference
scheduled for later that morning. A masked gunman approached from behind.
Three shots. Thompson fell. The shooter fled on a bicycle.
Five days later, December ninth, twenty twenty four, Altoona, Pennsylvania,
(02:41):
McDonald's restaurant, Luigi Mangone, twenty seven years old, eating breakfast
wearing a Beanie medical face mask covering his face. A
customer thought he looked like the suspect in the CEO killing,
told the manager. The manager searched online, compared the photos,
called nine one one. It looks like the suspect. I
(03:01):
can only see his eyebrows, but it looks like him.
Two officers approached Mangioni at his table, asked for identification.
He allegedly said his name was Mark Rosario, same name
prosecutors say he used to check into a Manhattan hostel
days before the shooting. Officers searched his backpack, found a
nine millimeter handgun, ammunition, fake identification, and a notebook. In
(03:26):
that notebook, according to prosecutors, Mangioni wrote about his intent
to whack a health insurance executive, described the deadly greed
fueled health insurance cartel, wrote that killing an industry executive
conveys a greedy bastard that had it coming. Mangione was arrested,
charged with first degree murder in New York. Federal murder
(03:50):
charges followed, prosecutors seeking the death penalty. But here's the problem.
Did police have the right to search that backpack? This week,
Mangoni's defense team is fighting to suppress the most damaging evidence,
the gun, the notebook, some of his statements to police,
all of it. Monday, the hearings began. Mangioni sat in
(04:11):
the courtroom, wearing a gray suit instead of jail clothes,
watched stoically as prosecutors played surveillance footage of the Thompson shooting,
then footage from that McDonald's, previously unseen by the public,
showing officers approaching him at breakfast. He pressed a finger
to his lips, made a fist around a pen in
his right hand. Listen to the nine to one one
(04:33):
call from the McDonald's manager describing him sitting there in
his mask and beanie. Defense attorney Mark Agnifilo argues the
backpack search was unconstitutional, no warrant, no probable cause. Officers
didn't have the right to open that bag and dig
through it. An officer searching the backpack was captured on
body camera saying she was checking to make sure there
(04:56):
wasn't a bomb in the bag. Mangione's lawyers call that
an excuse designed to cover up an illegal warrantless search.
Here's the Fourth Amendment question. When can police search your
belongings without a warrant? Generally they can't. There are exceptions
if you consent, if they have probable cause to believe
there's evidence of a crime, if there's an immediate safety concern,
(05:18):
like a bomb. Prosecutors argue that's exactly what happened. Officers
had reasonable suspicion Mangione was the Manhattan shooter. Checking the
bag for weapons was justified for officers safety. Everything they
found was in plain view once they opened it. Defense
says that's a post talk justification. Officers didn't actually believe
(05:39):
there was a bomb they were fishing, and they didn't
tell Mangione he had the right to remain silent before
asking questions, like when he allegedly gave the fake name
Mark Rosario. If the judge agrees with the defense, what
happens the gun gets excluded. The murder weapon gone. Prosecutors
can't show it to the jury, can't prove it match
(06:01):
the shell casings found at the Thompson shooting scene.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
The notebook gets excluded.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
All those damning statements about whacking an executive, about the
insurance cartel, about his planning and motivation gone. Jurors never
see it. That's the ballgame. Without the gun, prosecutors have
a circumstantial case surveillance footage of a masked man DNA
on a water bottle, but no weapon. Without the notebook,
(06:28):
they have no motive evidence beyond speculation. Mangione already got
the terrorism charges thrown out in September. His lawyers are
methodically attacking the prosecution's case piece by piece. This suppression
hearing is the most important battle yet. Court officials say
the hearings could last more than a week. More than
two dozen witnesses expected. Defense attorney Agnafilo told a judge
(06:51):
last week that Manhattan prosecutors have a lot of explaining
to do about that McDonald's search. A few dozen Mangoni
supporters watched from the back of the courtroom Monday. One
wore a green T shirt that said, without a warrant,
it's not a search, it's a violation. Another woman held
a Luigi video game character doll. The support for Mangioni
(07:11):
remains bizarre. People treating an alleged assassin like a folk hero,
romanticizing murder because they don't like health insurance companies. Brian
Thompson was fifty years old, married father of two from Minnesota,
shot in the back walking to work. No trial, no jury,
no defense, just execution on a Manhattan sidewalk. Mangioni has
(07:32):
pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges. His state
trial could result in life in prison. His federal trial
could result in death. Neither trial has been scheduled yet.
First the judge has to decide what evidence the jury
gets to see. Tomorrow marks one year since Brian Thompson
was killed. The hearings will continue right through the anniversary.
(07:55):
Justice moves slowly.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
But it moves.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
We'll be right back with Michael Jordan causing chaos in
his NASCAR antitrust trial. Jurors couldn't stop talking about their bulls, posters,
and Denny Hamlin's tearful testimony about his dying father. Welcome
(08:21):
back to celebrity trials.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
I'm reed.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Carter Charlotte, North Carolina, Federal Court twenty three eleven Racing
and Front Row Motorsports versus NASCAR antitrust trial that could
demolish stock car racing as we know it. Monday, the
trial opened and immediately descended into chaos because Michael Jordan
showed up, the sixth time NBA champion, the Basketball Hall
(08:44):
of Famer, the man whose sneakers still sell for hundreds
of dollars. He walked into that federal court room and
sat in the gallery near his co owner Denny Hamlin,
and jury selection went sideways. One potential juror was dismissed
because he said he couldn't be impartial. His reason, I
like Mike. Another juror admitted he grew up with Michael
(09:06):
Jordan posters on his walls gone. A third said he
was a North Carolina fan, Jordan's alma mater, but noted
the Tar Heels football team isn't doing too well right now.
Jordan shook his head and laughed, even in a court room,
even as a spectator, even sitting silently in the gallery.
(09:26):
Michael Jordan is a distraction. His presence alone is enough
to buy us a jury. But the substance of this
trial matters twenty three eleven Racing co owned by Jordan
and Hamlin and front Row Motorsports are suing NASCAR for
antitrust violations. They claim NASCAR is a monopolistic bully that
forces teams to accept unfair revenue sharing or get out
(09:49):
of the sport. Denny Hamlin was the first witness, three
time daytona five hundred winner, seventeen year NASCAR veteran, and
he broke down crying on the stand when attorneys asked
how he got into racing. Hamlin started weeping, had to
stop and compose himself. He disclosed last month that his
father is dying. Said on the stand he was emotional
(10:12):
because his dad is not in great health. We got
to when I was about twenty and a decision had
to be made. I could keep racing or go out
and work for my dad's trailer business. Hamlin's family sacrificed
everything for his racing career. Now he owns a team,
and he says NASCAR's system makes it nearly impossible to survive.
(10:32):
Here's the economics. It costs twenty million dollars just to
bring a single car to the track for a thirty
eight race season. That's before overhead, before driver's salary, before
business operations, just getting on the track. The current charter
system guarantees team's twelve point five million dollars in annual
revenue per chartered car. Sounds like a lot, But if
(10:54):
it cost twenty million just to race, teams are losing
money before they pay anyone. Plaintiffs attorney Jeffrey Kessler told
the court that a NASCAR Commission's study found seventy five
percent of teams lost money in twenty twenty four. Over
a three year period, almost four hundred million dollars was
paid to the France family trust. That's the family that
owns NASCAR. A twenty twenty three Goldman Sachs evaluation found
(11:18):
NASCAR worth five billion dollars. What the evidence is going
to show is mister France ran this for the benefit
of his family at the expense of the teams in sport,
Kessler argued. Hamlin testified that eleven of the first nineteen
chartered teams are no longer in business. All three charters
twenty three eleven purchased came from teams that ceased operations.
(11:42):
He paid four point seven million dollars for the first
charter thirteen point five million dollars for the second and
twenty eight million dollars for the third, acquired late last year,
even knowing this litigation was pending. The price concerned him.
But building a competitive team requires multiple charters, and there's
nowhere else to race at this level. So why would
(12:03):
these people do this if you are just going to
lose money because NASCAR isn't giving you a fair deal,
Kessler asked rhetorically, because you love stock car racing and
there's nowhere else to do it. That's the antitrust argument.
NASCAR has a monopoly on top level American stock car racing.
(12:24):
Teams have no alternative except NASCAR's terms, or don't race.
The France family extracts billions while teams go bankrupt. NASCAR's defense,
they built this sport from nothing. The France family built
NASCAR from nothing. They are an American success story. Defense
attorney Johnny Stevenson said in opening statements, They've done it
(12:46):
through hard work over seventy five years. That's the kind
of effort that doesn't deserve a lawsuit. That's the kind
of effort that deserves admiration. NASCAR argues the charter system
created one point five billion dollars in equity for the
thirty six chartered teams. Before charters, teams raced open with
no guarantee they'd make the field or earn payouts. The
(13:07):
current system provides stability. The guaranteed twelve point five million
dollars per car is an increase from nine million under
the previous agreement. NASCAR says teams are better off now
than before, but twenty three to eleven in front Row
refused to sign the new charter agreements that triggered this lawsuit.
Their charters are being held by NASCAR. They're racing this
(13:28):
season under protest. If they lose, their charters could be
sold to other buyers, including private equity firms interested in
the sport. The stakes are enormous. A NASCAR victory could
put twenty three to eleven in front Row out of business,
their six combined cars gone. Jordan's racing venture. Over a
victory for the teams, the judge has power to unravel
(13:50):
a monopoly. Nothing is off the table, ordering a sale
of NASCAR, dismantling the charter system, restructuring how revenue gets distributed.
The care has been churning through hearings for more than
a year. Other NASCAR teams begged both sides to settle.
A federal judge helped mediate a two day summit in October.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
It failed.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
Now twelve jurors will decide the future of American stock
car racing, assuming they can stop thinking about Michael Jordan Dedham, Massachusetts,
Norfolk Superior Court, Commonwealth versus Brian Walshee murder trial for
(14:35):
the death of his wife Anna. January first, twenty twenty three,
New Year's Day. Anna Walshey, thirty nine years old, a
real estate executive, was last seen at her Massachusetts home
following a New Year's Eve dinner with her husband and
a friend. Her body has never been found, but prosecutors
say Brian Walshey, fifty years old, murdered her that day,
(14:56):
spent the next several days trying to cover it up,
only reported her missing on January fourth, after her employer
called because she hadn't shown up for work This week.
The trial finally began, and Brian Walshey's defense strategy is
something else. His lawyer, Larry Tipton, told the jury Anna
(15:16):
just died suddenly in bed. Brian found her un panicked
when he entered the bedroom and began to get into bed.
He sensed something was wrong. He nudged Anna, his wife.
She didn't respond. He nudged her again, a little harder.
She didn't respond. He nudged her now in a panicked
and frantic reaction, to where she actually rolled off the bed. Sudden,
(15:39):
unexplained death. That's the defense. Anna was alive one minute,
dead the next. No murder, just tragedy. There's just one
problem with that theory. Actually, there are dozens of problems.
Let's start with Brian's Internet search history. Prosecutors say that
starting on the day Anna disappeared, Brian made multiple searches
(16:02):
on his devices dismemberment and best ways to dispose of
a body. How long before a body starts to smell hacksaw?
Best tool to dismember, best way to dispose of a body?
How long for someone missing to inherit? How long missing
to be dead? Can you throw away body parts? Is
it possible to clean DNA off a knife? Best way
(16:22):
to dispose of body parts after murder? Searches about cleaning
blood with ammonia bleach and hydrogen peroxide. Google search history
is forever. Apparently, criminals still haven't learned that if Anna
just died suddenly in bed, a tragic natural death. Why
was Brian immediately searching for how to dismember a body?
Why was he researching how long it takes for someone
(16:44):
missing to be declared dead for inheritance purposes? But wait,
it gets worse. Surveillance video shows a man matching Brian's
description purchasing four hundred fifty dollars in cleaning supplies and
tarps on January second, buying bandages, candles, uggs, a mop,
a bucket, and a hatchet. A hatchet for cleaning up
(17:04):
after your wife's sudden natural death. More surveillance video shows
a man resembling Brian throwing what appeared to be heavy
trash bags into a dumpster not far from their home.
Investigators searched a trash processing facility near his mother's home.
Found bags containing a hatchet, hammer, shears, hacksaw, towels, a
(17:25):
protective TIVEX suit, cleaning agents, a prod of purse, boots
like the ones Anna was last seen wearing, and a
COVID vaccination card with her name. The Massachusetts State Crime
Laboratory examined the items for DNA found Anna's DNA on
the hatchet on the hacksaw on other items found Both
Anna and Brian's DNA on the tivex suit, her DNA
(17:49):
on a hacksaw found in a dumpster. If she died
naturally in bed, how did her DNA get on dismemberment
tools found in the trash. The defense says, Brian panic.
He never thought anyone would believe Anna was alive one
minute and dead the next. All he could think about
was his three boys. What would happen to them if
(18:09):
police thought he did something bad to Anna? So instead
of calling nine to one pint one, instead of calling
a doctor, instead of doing what any normal person would
do when their spouse die suddenly, he allegedly dismembered her body,
disposed of the pieces, bought cleaning supplies, searched for how
(18:29):
to get away with murder, and waited three days to
report her missing. That's the defense. Panic made him do it.
Love for his children made him chop up his wife
and throw her in dumpsters. Make it make sense. Here's
more context the defense has to explain. At the time
of Anna's death, Brian was on house arrest, awaiting sentencing
for a separate fraud case. He'd pleaded guilty to selling
(18:52):
fake Andy Warhol paintings. Already a convicted criminal, already facing
prison time, Anna had taken out two point seven million
dollars in life insurance policies. Brian was the sole beneficiary,
and court documents reveal Anna was having an affair, told
a friend she planned to leave her husband, had a
romantic relationship with a man named William Fastow, who helped
(19:15):
her buy a townhouse in Washington, d C. Where she worked.
Brian claimed in interviews with police that he knew nothing
about the affair. That Anna left for work on January first,
between six and seven am, that she texted him her
plane had landed in d C. That he hadn't heard
from her after that. Her employer said there was no
work emergency, no record she ever got on a plane.
(19:36):
Her phone last interacted with Verizon on January second, at
three a m near the Walshey home in Cohasset, Massachusetts.
She never left because she was already dead. The trial
has a complication. Former Massachusetts State Police trooper Michael Procter
was involved in the investigation. If that name sounds familiar,
it should. Proctor was the lead investigator in the Karen
(19:59):
Read case. He was fired for sending offensive and sexist
texts about read his credibility is destroyed. Defense attorneys have
been fighting to access records from Proctor's involvement in this case.
If Proctor touched this investigation, expect the defense to attack
every piece of evidence he handled. Brian Walshee pleaded guilty
to two charges just before trial began, misleading a police
(20:23):
officer and conveyance of a human body. Sentencing on those
charges after the murder trial concludes. He's already admitted he lied,
already admitted he disposed of a body. The only question
left is whether he killed her or just happened to
find her dead and then dismembered her out of panic.
Anna Walshe was thirty nine years old, Serbian immigrant real
(20:45):
estate executive, mother of three young children, now in state custody.
Made over three hundred thousand dollars annually, had investment properties,
had a life, a career, a future. Her body has
never been found, but her DNA was found on tools
designed for cutting through flesh and bone. Tools Her husband
(21:07):
allegedly purchased tools found in trash bags he allegedly threw away.
Someone has to say her name. Anna Walshe thirty nine
years old, gone your tax dollars at work. That's Celebrity
Trials for Wednesday, December third, twenty twenty five. Luigi Mangone
fighting to suppress the gun and journal prosecutors say prove
(21:30):
he murdered Brian Thompson. Hearings continuing through the one year
anniversary of the CEO's assassination Tomorrow. Michael Jordan disrupting jury
selection just by existing, Denny Hamlin crying on the stand
about his dying father, NASCAR's entire business model on trial,
and Brian Walshey asking a jury to believe his wife
(21:50):
just died suddenly in bed. That's why he googled how
to dismember a body. That's why her DNA was on
a hacksaw and a dumpster. Panic. Three trials, three very
different defenses, one common thread. Everybody thinks they're smarter than
the evidence. I'm reed, Carter. Tomorrow updates on all three
(22:10):
trials and the first anniversary of Brian Thompson's murder. This
is Celebrity Trials.
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