Luigi Mangione latest: Top New York attorney tapped by CEO murder suspect as ‘defense fund’ donations mount
Karen Friedman Agnifilo to represent suspect as he faces second-degree murder charge while donations pour into GiveSendGo fundraiser
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A top New York City attorney has been hired to represent Luigi Mangione in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEOBrian Thompson.
Karen Friedman Agnifilo will be representing Mangione in New York. The suspect is also facing charges in Pennsylvania and is currently fighting extradition to New York, CNN reported. Police sources believe Mangione took a train to Pennsylvania, where he was captured on Monday.
Agnifilo has worked in private practice since 2021 and has experience in New York City’s criminal justice system. She spent seven years as the chief assistant district attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
Mangione’s supporters are donating thousands of dollars for “defense funds” that have been established for him. Amid fears the shooting suspect is being turned into a martyr, several fundraisers have been set up for him online, with one created by anonymous group ‘The December 4th Legal Committee’ surpassing more than $100,000 in donations on the crowdfunding website GiveSendGo by Sunday.
The group’s name is an apparent reference to the day the 26-year-old allegedly gunned down Mr Thompson in Midtown Manhattan.
Other campaigns soliciting donations for Mangione’s defense have been taken down by sites, such as GoFundMe, reported ABC News.
Public donations for suspected CEO killer Luigi Mangione’s ‘defence fund’ surpass $100,000- Why is Luigi Mangione only facing second-degree murder over UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting?
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UnitedHealthcare didn’t insure Luigi Mangione
UnitedHealth Group, the parent company to UntiedHealthcare, said that Luigi Mangione was not a client of the health insurance company.
There is no record that the 26-year-old shooting suspect was ever insured by the company, UnitedHealth Group told NBC News.
Police also confirmed that there is “no indication” that Mangione was registered with UnitedHealthcare, whose CEO was murdered on December 4 in Midtown Manhattan.
“We have no indication that he was ever a client of United Healthcare, but he does make mention that it is the fifth-largest corporation in America, which would make it the largest health care organization in America,” Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told NBC New York.
Mangione’s defense fund surpasses $100k
More than $100,000 has been raised to pay for Luigi Mangione’s legal bills as he faces charges in both Pennsylvania and New York.
The December 4th Legal Committee launched the public appeal on Christian fundraising site GiveSendGo, which garnered the vast sum after the 26-year-old was changed in Altoona, Pennsylvania on Monday. The fundraiser has a goal of $200,000.
“We are dedicated to ensuring that he gets a fair trial with competent legal counsel,” said Carol Sherman, an organizer with the December 4th Legal Committee.
The group says that proceeds will go to “other political prisoners in the US” if Mangione’s charges are dropped, or he rejects the funds.
ICYMI: McDonald’s customer reflects on moment he spotted Luigi Mangione in fast food joint
UnitedHealth Group CEO admits healthcare system ‘doesn’t work as well as it should’
The CEO of UnitedHealth Group, the parent company to UnitedHealthcare, admitted that the US health system “doesn’t work as well as it should”.
Writing in a New York Times op-ed on Friday morning, Andrew Witty lamented the loss of Brian Thompson, the chief executive of United Healthcare, and addressed the US’s “patchwork” healthcare system.
The health insurance executive also wrote that he understood people’s frustrations with the health care system.
“We know the health system does not work as well as it should, and we understand people’s frustrations with it,” he wrote. “No one would design a system like the one we have. And no one did. It’s a patchwork built over decades.”
He continued: “Our mission is to help make it work better. We are willing to partner with anyone, as we always have – health care providers, employers, patients, pharmaceutical companies, governments and others – to find ways to deliver high-quality care and lower costs.
“Clearly, we are not there yet. We understand and share the desire to build a health care system that works better for everyone. That is the purpose of our organization.”
Watch: Retailers hawk merch with Mangione’s mugshot
Luigi Mangione’s mugshot emblazoned on stickers and t-shirts after CEO murder charge
Luigi Mangione’s new police mugshot has been put up for sale emblazoned on stickers and t-shirts. The 26-year-old has been charged with murder in connection to the death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside his Manhattan hotel on 4 December. Mangione is currently being held in a Pennsylvania jail without bond as he awaits extradition to New York where he faces a murder charge. He also faces charges for gun law violations in Pennsylvania. After the Altoona Police Department posted updated mugshots of the suspect, merchandise bearing the images was put up for sale online. Mangione was denied bail, is fighting extradition, and will remain in a Pennsylvania jail. He is set to plead not guilty to all charges, his attorney Thomas Dickey told NewsNation on Tuesday.
Luigi Mangione’s family hired private investigator after he went missing, friend claims
Luigi Mangione’s family are said to have hired a private investigator to search for the Brian Thompson’s suspected murderer after he cut communication with friends and family late last year, a friend said.
A friend who allegedly studied alongside Mangione at The Gilman School claimed that he stopped contact with his family at the end of 2023.
“I did know he was having some issues,” a schoolfriend told the Daily Mail. “He wasn’t talking with his family, and nobody could find him.
“They hired a private investigator, they were so worried.”
The friend claimed they’d been told that Mangione had struggled with pain medication due to an injury stemming from an accident.
“There was some sort of accident. I knew he was hurt some time ago and that led to the painkiller thing, and then the whole family issue,” he said. “I can’t confirm what the issue specifically was, but I know that he was estranged.”
The Mail claims that another schoolmate said had heard of Mangione’s alleged use of pain medication due to a chronic spinal injury.
UnitedHealth Group CEO admits America’s health system is ‘flawed’
In a public response to the outpouring of rage against health insurance companies following the murder of Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare’s parent company admitted America’s health care system “is flawed” as he mourned the loss of a “brilliant, kind man.”
In an op-ed titled “The health care system is flawed. Let’s fix it,” published in the New York Times on Friday, Andrew Witty, chief executive officer of UnitedHealth Group, wrote that he “understands people’s frustrations.”
The shocking case has prompted a wave of support for the suspect, Luigi Mangione, who has been charged with Thompson’s murder and is fighting extradition to New York, as Americans vent their frustrations with the state of health care.
“We know the health system does not work as well as it should, and we understand people’s frustrations with it,” Witty said. “No one would design a system like the one we have.”
Rhian Lubin has the full story.
UnitedHealth Group CEO admits health system is ‘flawed’ after Brian Thompson’s murder
The shocking case has prompted a wave of support for the suspect, Luigi Mangione, as Americans vent their frustrations with the state of health care
What are Mangione’s jail conditions?
Mangione is being held in a small cell — 15 feet by six feet — with a bed, sink, toilet and a desk with a seat, Newsweek reported.
He “can look out the front of his cell where there is a window which provides natural light,” a Pennsylvania Department of Corrections spokesperson told the outlet.
The 26-year-old has eaten all of his three meals each day in his cell and is “not interacting with other inmates at this time,” the spokesperson said.