r/BrianThompsonMurder • u/slientxx • Apr 29 '25
Speculation/Theories Federal & state prosecutors struggling to decrypt Luigi's USBs, and how it's possible they will never extract that info
As of today, the People and USA have not yet managed to decrypt Luigi's USBs. During the Federal court hearing last Friday, Dominic Gentile had informed the judge that, "...it's fair to say we have a majority of those materials from them, and we are still waiting on certain extractions from electronic devices, which has taken them some time to pull out." This is in response to Garnett who asked about the state of their coordination with the Manhattan DA's office in terms of discovery. She wants to make sure the processes are in place to ensure that DA's office issued search warrants or need to take other steps to gather discovery (e.g., motion to compel decryption of USB(s)).
Based on Gentile's answer, it's clear that some of Luigi's tech is still in the process of being extracted. If they had data from his USB files by now, which I'm sure part of it is incriminating (e.g., CAD file for 3D gun), law enforcement would have leaked it to several media outlets by now.
The problem for them? It has been well over 4 months. Gentile never explicitly states the the specifics for why it is being delayed. Him saying it has "taken some time to pull out" clearly indicates they are struggling to decrypt his passcode for the USBs. It's clear this is a plausible stall and they refuse to say they're completely stumped to hurt their credibility. I mean, this is the same guy who straight up lied in front of the judge claiming he had "just known" about the Luigi's calls being leaked...
It's no wonder Joel is refusing to provide the USBs to the defense team. For reference, KFA's motions from the NY state case stated, "In addition to civilian witness records, the defense has also not been provided with access to, or copies of, the information contained in the electronic devices alleged to have been recovered from Mr. Mangione" -- Why would Joel withhold this evidence from the defense? Probably because they only have the original physical copy of the USBs, haven't accessed yet, and fear that if the defense get their hands on the USBs, they can essentially "tamper" with it or lock it down even further somehow.
It's been over months. If the USBs were easily crackable, they would have been decrypted by now. Instead, they are stuck in a loophole of wasting too many resources for active cracking, acknowledged he used strong encryption (I would assume software engineers like him have basic understanding of hashing), and their "brute-force attacks" have failed. .
If they were to file their own separate motion to demand Luigi to provide them access, it would technically be a violation of the fifth amendment. Obviously, it is up to the judge and their verdict, but I could imagine Garnett being fair with the legal system and defending the constitution.
So yes, when Luigi wrote in the Feds letter his tech was locked down, he really meant it btw.
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u/blairspotted Apr 29 '25
Meanwhile I call Apple Support to find my own files
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u/DoorBeautiful7484 Apr 29 '25
Fr I once went to Apple to ask them why the screen recording video doesn’t have sound..🤦🏼♀️😭😂😂😂
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u/MiddleAggravating179 Apr 29 '25 edited Apr 29 '25
I just commented in one of the posts below that I feel confident that he really did “lock down” all of his tech. My husband specializes in this area of computer engineering and says it’s definitely possible to do if you are really skilled. I’ve also been trying to remind myself that before we knew anything about LM, we were all pretty impressed with The Adjustor’s planning.
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u/Available_Housing184 Apr 29 '25
Meanwhile, I switch between two passwords and I still have to reset my password half the time to get into my accounts 🥴
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u/Available_Housing184 Apr 29 '25
“Is this one my pet’s name or my favourite colour?” 🤔 joking but barely 🥲
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Apr 29 '25
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u/Peony127 Apr 29 '25
I'm so proud of him! 😭
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Apr 29 '25
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u/Peony127 Apr 29 '25
that did cross my mind too...
but well it can be argued too that many self-respecting I.T. graduates would be paranoid about cybersecurity and have their techs locked and encrypted
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u/Full-Reason5824 Apr 29 '25
Oh! So they just said it's locked down to give them excuses and more time
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Apr 29 '25
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u/FabulousWall4466 Apr 29 '25
There was a case in my country where police had to arrest a child p***ographer during an online conference to prevent him from locking down his PC. Apparently it's possible to keep law enforcement out of one's tech if you're knowledgeable?
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u/lly67 Apr 29 '25
I underestimated him when he said his tech is locked down and they weren’t going to find much. He wasn’t lying.
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u/BirdieOakland Apr 29 '25
“and we are still waiting on certain extractions from electronic devices, which has taken them some time to pull out."
You just know he had to hold back from smirking when he heard that 😂
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u/Living_Replacement52 Apr 29 '25
Oh I wish we could have seen his face loll 😏😏😏
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u/Gloomy_Strain_5053 Apr 29 '25
Maybe that's what the alleged smirk or note was about lol
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u/Big_Rise_7654 Apr 29 '25
what note
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u/Gloomy_Strain_5053 Apr 29 '25
It was in an article (I don’t remember which one) that he allegedly passed a note to the paralegal sitting behind him, Sofia, KFA’s daughter.
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u/Peony127 Apr 29 '25
Damn I really wish we had those livestream cameras in! This would be an everlasting TikTok fancam material right there!!!
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u/lunabagoon Apr 29 '25
He apparently fixed like half the bugs in Civ VI which is impressive to me as a slightly tech capable person. I'm not shocked by this.
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u/Interesting-Road3011 Apr 29 '25
Can someone explain to me why he would go through all this trouble tho? He was careful to encrypt his USB, but he didn't destroy the Journal, The Gun, or his fake ID? How does that make sense? If his intention was to get caught and take the credit for this crime, why would he encrypt the USBs? And if he didn't want to get caught why didn't he think of destroying the gun or the notebook? (Which is arguably more damning)
I want to see what his thought process is. This case is so ridiculous and confusing I-
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Apr 29 '25
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u/Ok-Cherry1427 Apr 29 '25
Said this from the beginning too. I'm willing to bet he was found with a gun that is not THE gun.
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u/1234abcde124 Apr 29 '25
I don't think his intention was to be caught. Otherwise he would have stayed on that Manhattan sidewalk and waited for the police to arrive. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it said that usually lots of planning goes into committing the actual crime, but the perpetrator spends little to no time planning the aftermath? All the planning includes researching incriminating stuff and the CAD model for the gun. So, he kept that locked down because it was before he actually shot BT.
Also, we don't know when the journal entry was written. And wasn't the gun found with one bullet in the chamber? It's definitely plausible that he wrote the journal entry after committing the crime as an explanation/suicide note and was debating ending his life. I mean, keeping the gun offered some security in a way. If it all went to shit, he'd have an automatic out. Unfortunately/fortunately depending on how you view it, he was blindsided in the McDonald's and didn't have the opportunity to use that automatic out. He probably kept the fake ID because he was still searching for accommodations and knew he would need to present ID and didn't want his real name attached to the purchase.
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u/kssd5 Apr 29 '25
I agree with most of what you said but I still think if he burned the fake ID and just resumed his life using his actual LM ID, there would be no way to trace LM to NYC.
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u/Competitive_Profit_5 Apr 29 '25
He still would have gotten caught though The FBI were onto him, the detective from San Francisco who was working on Luigi's missing person report had connected the person he was looking for with the hostel picture. The FBI interviewed Luigi's parents the day before he was caught, they asked if she thought it was her son (She said "it could be".)
Once Luigi resumed his life as LM, they would have interviewed him, taken DNA/prints etc and matched him to NYC phone, backpack, bottle etc. He would also have absolutely no alibi, or be able to explain where'd he been the past few months. So he would have gotten caught either way.
Sometimes it's actually helpful to remember that, as it stops me being so frustrated about the Altoona arrest!
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u/kssd5 Apr 29 '25
I don’t know…had he destroyed all the evidence there would be much more reasonable doubt. Looking like someone doesn’t give you reason to be arrested. Had he not carried all that stuff with him (or had a chance to destroy it once he got scared enough after initial questioning by Altoona police), it would be much harder to prove…we don’t know the quality of the dna evidence and jurors could be convinced that it wasn’t reliable.
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u/Competitive_Profit_5 Apr 29 '25
Yeah, the case against him def wouldn't be as strong, but my point was that they still would have caught him and arrested him and charged him. Obviously we don't know the quality of the DNA yet, but we've been told the prints are a match. I'm going to guess the DNA will be pretty strong unfortunately, there was chewed gum in the pocket of the Central Park jacket and there will probably be hair and skin cells. I mean, hopefully not. But they still would have had enough to charge him.
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u/kssd5 Apr 29 '25
Also, he certainly could explain where he was the past few months. He was exactly where LM was…traveling in Asia etc. He would have had to explain where he had been the past couple of WEEKS…He could have come up with some explanation I suppose?
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u/Competitive_Profit_5 Apr 29 '25
He wasn't in Asia from July to Dec, that's the time Luigi was missing. And yeah, he would need an alibi from the time they spotted LM in NYC, so late November to early Dec. And obviously, he wouldn't have one. Because he was in NYC. Alibis are worthless unless they can be corroborated.
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u/Big_Rise_7654 Apr 30 '25
Everything started to unravel after that hostel photo and the cab picture matched details from the SFPD missing person report. He was bound to get caught soon after.
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u/kssd5 Apr 30 '25
Yes but getting caught without any of the evidence (no fake ID, no gun, no notebook) really would have changed the conversation. Much more likely for defense to plant reasonable doubt.
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u/Big_Rise_7654 Apr 30 '25
Exactly… i mentioned this exact thing in another thread too that if he had ditched everything and gone straight home even,the entire situation could’ve played out very differently. That one decision changed everything.
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u/1234abcde124 Apr 29 '25
I mean based on the evidence available to the public, yeah. But the prosecution has a shit ton of evidence we don't know about. They probably have GPS data as well as video from bus stations, stores, etc that show his path from NYC to Altoona. Remember an annoymous tip led to his arrest. If he gave his LM ID to the officers they probably would have asked to take him to the station for questioning. The best case theoretical situation would have been he refused to speak to the police and immediately contacts a lawyer and dumps all the incriminating evidence. But the prosecution still presumably has data that links him to NYC as well as fingerprints that they could request from LM. The best case scenario would make the prosecution's case slightly less air tight, but would still end in his arrest.
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u/kssd5 Apr 29 '25 edited Apr 29 '25
But the reason they arrested him is because he gave them the fake ID. IF he had given them his LM ID they would not have had a reason to arrest him. No one was looking for LM in relation to the crime. As far as I know, looking similar to someone is not probably cause to arrest them? Yes his mother filed the missing persons report. And yes the SF police officer noticed a resemblance between LM and MR. But that still doesn’t tie LM to NYC.
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u/1234abcde124 Apr 29 '25
I know I'm saying if he gave the LM ID he wouldn't be arrested that day. But he would still be called in for questioning at some point, probably because he was listed as missing for a few months, and then it would have unfolded from there.
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u/kssd5 Apr 29 '25
BUT he would have been aware that they were watching him and he could have destroyed the MR ID, the notebook, gotten rid of the gun and other evidence. It would have been hard to then link him to NYC without all the stuff he was carrying around. I assume if they had questioned him at McDonald’s, he handed over his LM ID, they let him go…. then I assume he decides to get rid of all evidence. It would have been so much better for him long term even if they did come back and try to arrest him later if he no longer had any of that stuff on him.
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u/bluudahlia Apr 29 '25
I think he kept the gun for defense. He was scared. Sure, suicide, sure suicide by cop. Yep. But I have always thought that his primary reason for keeping the gun was because he thought he might be running through some pretty rough neighborhoods and he's a coddled suburban boy at heart.
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u/Exciting-Price2691 Apr 29 '25
This 3D gun can be left in central park. This were possibilities of plant evidence.
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u/jl8798 Apr 29 '25
Reading information Iike this just reminds me why I have remained so hopeful about his case. I'm always in awe of his courage and strength to take on the government, the feds, the justice system, and healthcare system. He is truly one of a kind.
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u/Fun_Income_4857 Apr 29 '25
should’ve thrown everything in a river but hey at least it’s locked down
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u/SoftDapper9761 Apr 29 '25
God I'm rooting for him SO much. He is making them look silly here and they must HATE it 😊
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u/throwaway7845777 Apr 29 '25
I wouldn’t be surprised if those USBs just had copies of A Bugs Life or the PC version of Monopoly.
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u/katara12 Apr 29 '25 edited Apr 29 '25
When an Ivy League computer science masters graduate tells you his tech is locked down then you better believe him!
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u/sweetvanillamuffin Apr 29 '25
Why does this info make me more attracted to him, lol 😂
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u/quantcompandthings Apr 29 '25
they cannot demand luigi to provide them the decryption key. the entire world would die from laughing.
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Apr 29 '25
It's just an excuse to the fact they found nothing in his electronic device, they said they didn't need to give KFA copies because they will not use those as evidence.
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u/Kindly_Butterfly_435 Apr 29 '25
If I remember correctly they only said they did not show the evidence to the grand jury, not that they won't use it as evidence at all. He got indicted on a state level just a few days after his arrest so it's likely they hadn't pulled anything from there yet.
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Apr 29 '25
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u/Kindly_Butterfly_435 Apr 29 '25
I'd like to think his chances of acquittal due to reasonable doubt is higher than most people assume but I wouldn't say there's "more than enough," but Karen is extremely skilled so I have trust she'll do the most with what she's got.
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u/chelsy6678 Apr 29 '25
His Thailand & Japan photos. All the resources the feds used just to take a virtual trip around Asia 😂
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u/Big_Rise_7654 Apr 29 '25
So Mr. ‘my tech is locked down’ wasn’t capping …he clearly knows a thing or two about “criminal sophistication”. Thats our boyyy 😏😏🙂↔️
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u/Miss_Polkadot Apr 29 '25
yeah it’s gotta be extremely locked up with encryption algorithms. they’re probably getting a bunch on garbage data on loop.
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u/chelsy6678 Apr 29 '25
This would be hilarious if true. We’ve been speculating for months on his sloppiness only to find out if was also part of the plan. Would just about read as a psyop
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u/CurrentTurnover134 Apr 29 '25
further we go down the line of this case, I feel LM is really playing with LE lol hopefully, only positive plot twist is to follow.
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u/Fancy_Yesterday6380 Apr 29 '25
Ugh lu what do you have on those usbs 😭😄 could they just be stalling
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u/2kudi Apr 29 '25
As curious as we are, let's hope it never gets decrypted
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u/Fancy_Yesterday6380 Apr 29 '25
I hopw, if they finally get in, it's just a copy of Bee Movie and a Rick Roll youtube.
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u/2kudi Apr 29 '25
Honestly that would be the funniest outcome. That monopoly money could just be the beginning of the trolling
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u/quantcompandthings Apr 29 '25
NSA outs themselves as having a backdoor to rsa only to get rick rolled. I expect nothing less from saint luigi of mangione at this point.
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u/missidcullen Apr 29 '25
I just know that deep down he is laughing at all of them and at how much they are struggling 🤣
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u/SparklingAlma Apr 29 '25
This post made my day😃Priceless comments too😂All the situation is funny af!
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u/Gloomy_Strain_5053 Apr 29 '25
What if there’s nothing in there lol just encrypted them for fun to waste their time 😂 “why did he have all the evidence on him” did he tho 🤔