Alleged CEO killer Luigi Mangione pleads not guilty to death penalty eligible charges

Luigi Mangione, the Maryland man accused of hunting down and killing a UnitedHealthcare CEO over what prosecutors said was "hostility toward the health insurance industry," pleaded not guilty at his Manhattan federal court arraignment on Friday to what could be death penalty charges.

Mangione, 26, a University of Pennsylvania graduate and scion to a wealthy mid-Atlantic family, stands accused of plotting for at least five months, according to an alleged manifesto recovered by federal investigators, to kill health care CEO Brian Thompson, a married father of two, because of his anger at the insurance industry.

Mangione, wearing a tan prison suit with a long-sleeved T-shirt, leaned forward toward the microphone and said "Not guilty" when asked by District Judge Margaret Garnett how he was pleading.

Mangione was indicted last week on gun charges, two counts of stalking and murder, which makes him eligible for capital punishment.

Aside from taking the plea, the judge set a schedule for the motions on the death penalty issue and any suppression of evidence or dismissal of the case.

Defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo also alerted the judge that the defense team had found out on Friday that a recording of a conversation that Mangione had with his lawyer had been reviewed by a New York State prosecutor. Calls are routinely recorded in the federal lockup where Mangione is being kept, but prosecutors are barred from listening to conversations between defense lawyers and their client.

The judge asked federal prosecutors to file a letter by next Friday explaining what happened and how they are ensuring that his rights are not being infringed on.

Prosecutors charge that Mangione carried out his scheme on Dec. 4, shooting Thompson in the back outside the Hilton hotel on West 54th Street in Manhattan and killing him, then fleeing.

"The target is insurance," he allegedly wrote in a notebook recovered by the FBI. "It checks every box."

Attorney General Pamela Bondi had already announced the government would seek capital punishment on April 1, saying she was carrying out the Trump administration's policy to "make America safe again."

Friedman Agnifilo has protested, calling it a "political stunt" and saying that prosecutors and the attorney general have tainted the jury pool against her client and taken shortcuts to seek the death penalty.

The case has sparked widespread interest and tapped into a deep public dissatisfaction with the health insurance industry. Online contributors have raised nearly $1 million for Mangione’s legal defense and supporters crowd the hallways during his court appearances.

Nevertheless, Mangione’s alleged writings indicate he started his scheme as early as August researching his target and zeroing in on the conference, which he called "a true windfall ... and — most importantly — the message becomes self evident," according to an affidavit by FBI Special Agent Gary Cobb.

In his letter to federal agents, Mangione said he was working alone using "some elementary social engineering, basic [Computer-aided design], a lot of patience."

Thompson’s Dec. 4 slaying started a national manhunt for the killer. Authorities released surveillance photos of the suspected gunman taken at a Manhattan youth hostel and in the back of a New York City cab.

On Dec. 9, Altoona police, responding to a call from a McDonald’s employee, arrested Mangione inside the fast food restaurant in Pennsylvania.

In his bag, police found a loaded 9 mm handgun with a silencer similar to the one seen in video surveillance footage of the killing, according to authorities. He also carried several thousand dollars and the notebook with the letter.

Mangione has also been charged in Pennsylvania with illegal weapons possession and carrying a phony ID. His defense attorney has filed a request with the court there to suppress the evidence, arguing that the officers lacked sufficient cause to search his bag.

The Manhattan district attorney also indicted Mangione on charges of murder as a terroristic act. That case had been expected to proceed first, but the defense lawyer asked the judge to prioritize the federal case.

"We're going to proceed as if this is the only case," Garnett said, scheduling the next hearing for Dec. 5, the day after the one-year anniversary of the killing.