On Luigi Mangione’s To-Do List: ‘Pluck Eyebrows,’ Avoid FBI
Luigi Mangione appears in Manhattan Criminal Court for an evidence hearing, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, in New York. (William Farrington/New York Post via AP, Pool)
Pluck eyebrows. Buy less conspicuous shoes. Travel west toward Cincinnati and St. Louis by bus or train. Move around late at night. Avoid surveillance cameras.
A series of notes and travel plans recovered during Luigi Mangione’s arrest—and revealed in court this week—offer new insight into the steps he may have taken or planned to take to avoid capture following the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last year, the Associated Press reports. One note read: “Keep momentum, FBI slower overnight.” Another instructed: “Change hat, shoes, pluck eyebrows.”
The notes, which included a hand-drawn map and survival strategies, were presented Monday at a pretrial hearing, where Mangione sought to block prosecutors from using evidence seized during his Dec. 9, 2024, arrest at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Body-worn camera footage from the arrest, previously unseen by the public, was released Tuesday. Authorities said they found the notes in Mangione’s backpack alongside a 9 mm handgun—allegedly the weapon used to kill Thompson five days earlier—a loaded magazine, a silencer, and a notebook in similar handwriting outlining his intent to “wack” a health insurance executive.
The evidence highlights that Mangione’s stop in Altoona was likely only temporary. One note referenced checking for “red eyes” along routes from Pittsburgh to Columbus, Ohio, or partway to Cincinnati, with the instruction to “get off early.” A hand-drawn map connected those cities with additional potential destinations, including Detroit, Indianapolis, and St. Louis. Other notes, dated Dec. 5, included a starred entry advising: “buy black shoes (white stripes too distinctive).”
Additional notes, in a to-do list style, suggested staying more than three hours away from surveillance cameras and switching modes of transportation to “Break CAM continuity” and avoid being tracked. Another line read: “check reports for current situation,” possibly referring to news coverage of the search for Thompson’s killer. A Dec. 8 entry listed tasks including a trip to Best Buy for a digital camera and accessories, “hot meal + water bottles,” and “trash bag(s).” The Dec. 9 note—the day of his arrest—mentioned stops at Sheetz, an Altoona convenience store chain, “masks,” and “AAA bats.” Under a section labeled “Future TO DO,” Mangione listed “intel checkin” and “survival kit.”
The notes provide a glimpse into the calculated measures Mangione reportedly considered while on the run, illustrating the lengths he may have been willing to go to evade authorities.
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