UnitedHealthcare CEO murder suspect Luigi Mangione indicted by Manhattan district attorney
NEW YORK -- Luigi Mangione was indicted Tuesday by the Manhattan district attorney in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Mangione was hit with 11 counts, including murder in the first degree and murder as a crime of terrorism.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch spoke about the indictment at a Tuesday afternoon news conference.
"This was a frightening, well planned, targeted murder that was intended to cause shock, attention and intimidation," Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg said. "It occurred in one of the most bustling parts of our city, threatening the safety of local residents and tourists alike, commuters and business people just starting out on their day."
Bragg addressed how his office can prove terrorism.
"This was a killing that, it was intended to evoke terror, and we've seen that reaction," Bragg said. "You know, the statutory elements we can go into, but its most basic term, that's what this is. This was not an ordinary killing. Not to suggest that any killing is ordinary, but this was extraordinary, and the New York State Legislature has set out both the paths that we talked about, both the murder one and murder two, and this, we allege, is certainly squarely within those statutes which talk about intending to do."
Bragg said the maximum penalty for murder in the first degree and murder in the second degree as an act of terrorism is life without parole, and a conviction for murder in the second degree would carry a sentence of 25 years to life.
Mangione was also charged with multiple counts of criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a forged instrument for the fake ID that investigators allege Mangione used to check into a Manhattan hostel before the shooting on Dec. 4.
"The unsealing of today's indictment brings us one step closer to securing justice for Brian Thompson and his family, and affirming the primacy of the rule of law in the city of New York," Tisch said.
Mangione will next appear in court on Dec. 19 in Pennsylvania related to charges stemming from his arrest. His extradition proceeding will follow. Bragg said the 26-year-old suspect was considering waiving his extradition, after previously fighting it, but added his office will be prepared regardless of the suspect's decision.
Mangione is currently being held in a Pennsylvania state prison on charges related to possession of a gun and the fake ID.
Here's what the Manhattan DA's office alleges
Bragg outlined the suspect's movements before and after the killing of Thompson, alleging:
- Mangione arrived at the Port Authority on a bus on Nov. 24 and checked into the HI New York City Hostel on the Upper West Side, where he used a fake New Jersey ID under the name Mark Rosario. The suspect extended his stay at the hostel multiple times.
- Mangione left the hostel at 5:34 a.m. on the morning of Dec. 4 and travelled to Midtown using an e-bike. Between 5:52 a.m. and 6:45 a.m., he walked near and around the Hilton hotel. At approximately 6:15 a.m., he purchased a water bottle and granola bars at the Starbucks at 1290 Sixth Ave.
- Between approximately 6:38 a.m. and 6:44 a.m., Mangione stood against a wall on the north side of West 54th Street across from the Hilton, fully masked with his hood up.
- Mangione crossed the street to the Hilton at 6:45 a.m. and, armed with a 9mm 3D-printed ghost gun equipped with a silencer, approached Thompson from behind and shot him once in the back and once in the leg.
- Mangione then fled northeast on 54th Street and took an e-bike uptown. He eventually got into a taxi and was dropped off at West 178th Street and Amsterdam Avenue and then fled the state.
"NYPD detectives worked tirelessly to piece this case together, and along the way, the Manhattan DA's office made sure we had every legal tool available to us," Tisch said.
The police commissioner cited "the relentless collection and analysis of surveillance video" by detectives that ultimately produced a clear image of the suspect that was spread by the news media and the public, leading to his eventual arrest.
"This outcome is always why we emphasize the critical role of the public in our public safety mission," Tisch said. "So, again, I want to thank everyone that saw something, said something, and did something. That is why we have a suspect in custody today."
The indictment also reveals the words "deny" and "depose" were written on shell casings found at the scene, with "delay" written on one of the bullets – an apparent nod to the "three Ds of insurance," a phrase used by critics of the industry.
Investigators also said Tuesday that when the NYPD reached out to Mangione's mother last week, the day before he was arrested, she did not identify him in the surveillance photos that were being circulated, but she did tell them it might be something she could see him doing.
NYPD commissioner blasts celebration of suspect online
Along with what appears to be a wave of online support for the suspect from those angered by the health insurance industry, there has also been a torrent of online threats since Thompson's murder, according to the NYPD.
"Let me be perfectly clear. In the nearly two weeks since Mr. Thompson's killing, we have seen a shocking and appalling celebration of cold-blooded murder. Social media has erupted with praise for this cowardly attack. People ghoulishly plastered posters threatening other CEOs with an 'X' over Mr. Thompson's picture, as though he was some sort of a sick trophy," Tisch said.
She also spoke about a report in the New York Post about extreme activists circulating a deck of cards featuring other CEOs that should be targeted for assassination.
"These are the threats of a lawless, violent mob who would trade in their own vigilantism for the rule of law that protects us all," Tisch said. "Let me say this plainly, there is no heroism in what Mangione did. This was a senseless act of violence. It was a cold and calculated crime that stole a life and put New Yorkers at risk. We don't celebrate murders and we don't lionize the killing of anyone.
"Any attempt to rationalize this is vile, reckless and offensive to our deeply-held principles of justice," she added.
Luigi Mangione's arrest in Pennsylvania
Mangione was arrested on Dec. 9 after a customer at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, saw him eating breakfast and noticed a resemblance to the person being sought by police in the killing of Thompson in Manhattan five days earlier.
Police said Mangione was found with a gun, mask and writings linking him to the ambush outside the New York Hilton Midtown, where Thompson was arriving for his company's annual investor conference.
The NYPD told CBS News there are no indications that Mangione was a UnitedHealthcare customer.
- Read more: Luigi Mangione's motive for allegedly killing UnitedHealthcare's CEO is coming into focus, NYPD says
Hours after Mangione's arrest in Pennsylvania, Bragg's office in Manhattan filed paperwork charging him with five counts, including intentional murder, criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a forged instrument.
Suspect adds high-power lawyer to defense
Mangione has added prominent defense lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo to his legal team. Agnifilo was a high-ranking deputy in the Manhattan DA's office for years before entering private practice. Friedman Agnifilo's law firm, Agnifilo Intrater LLP, confirmed in a statement to CBS News on Saturday that she had been retained to represent Mangione.
The firm said Agnifilo, a longtime veteran of the Manhattan DA's office, served as the second-in-command for seven years under DA Cyrus Vance, in addition to serving for four years as the Chief of the Office's Trial Division.
Before being hired to represent him, Agnifilo said during a TV interview, "It looks like to me there might be a 'not guilty by reason of insanity' defense that they're going to be thinking about because the evidence is going to be so overwhelming that he did what he did."
