Luigi Mangion was charged Thursday with federal murder charges in the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a necessary step for prosecutors to seek the death penalty.
The indictment, returned by the Great Ju trial in Manhattan Federal Court, charges Mangione with two stalkers and a number of firearms.
It was not immediately clear when the 26-year-old Mangion would be arrested. A message seeking comment was left by a spokesman for his lawyer.
Mangion, an Ivy League alumnus of Maryland’s prominent real estate family, is also facing separate state murder charges. He is accused of shooting Thompson, 50, behind the back of a Manhattan hotel on December 4th as the executive arrived at United Healthcare’s annual Investors Conference.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondy announced this month that he had directed federal prosecutors in Manhattan to seek the death penalty.
This is the first death penalty case the Justice Department sought after President Donald Trump took office in January with a pledge to resume federal execution after halting under the previous administration.
The five-day Manhunt murder that led to Mangion’s arrest and subsequent Manhunt rattles the business community, with some health insurance companies rushing to work remotely or online shareholder meetings.
It also galvanized health insurance critics. Some of them surround Mangione as a substitute for refusal to coverage and complaints about the large medical costs.
Surveillance video showed a masked gunman who shot Thompson from behind. Police say the words “delay,” “denial,” and “retirement” were scribbled with ammunition, mimicking commonly used phrases to explain how insurance companies avoid paying claims.
Source link
