Luigi Mangione latest: Top New York attorney tapped by defense as new details emerge on how suspect fled to Pennsylvania
Karen Friedman Agnifilo to represent suspect as he faces second-degree murder charge while donations pour into GiveSendGo fundraiser and GoFundMe reportedly takes down another
The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
A top New York City attorney has been hired to represent Luigi Mangione in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian 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 $90,000 in donations on the crowdfunding website GiveSendGo by Saturday.
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.
Recap: Who is Luigi Mangione?
Luigi Mangione has been charged with murder in connection to the death of the UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside his Manhattanhotel on December 4.
Mangione, 26, was spotted eating a meal inside a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday morning, with an employee calling the tip into police.
He 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.
Thompson, 50, was shot dead on December 4 outside the New York Hilton Midtown. That launched a massive manhunt for the suspect who eluded police for nearly a week.
Read the full story.
Who is Luigi Mangione? What to know about murder suspect in CEO shooting
Mangione has been denied bail and is fighting extradition after being charged with murder in New York in connection with Brian Thompson’s death
Denying claims are like ‘an act of violence’ against Americans: AOC
New York Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told CBS News that she believes Americans view health insurance companies denying their claims as an “act of violence.”
“I think that this collective American experience, which is so twisted to have in the wealthiest nation in the world, all of that pain that people have experienced is being concentrated on this event. And it’s really important that we take a step back,” the Democrat said Thursday.
“This is not to comment and this is not to say that an act of violence is justified, but I think for anyone who is confused or shocked or appalled, they need to understand that people interpret and feel and experience denied claims as an act of violence against them,” she continued.
Police in California had IDed shooting suspect four days before arrest
California police had identified the UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting suspect as Luigi Mangione and alerted the FBI four days before he was eventually arrested in Pennsylvania, according to a report.
An officer in the San Francisco Police Department’s Special Victims Unit is said to have tipped off the bureau on December 5 after recognizing Mangione in images circulated by the NYPD, sources told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Mangione had actually been on the radar of San Francisco authorities two weeks prior to the December 4 shooting of Brian Thompson.
Mangione’s mother, Kathleen Mangione, had reported her son missing on November 18 after the family had been unable to contact him since July 1, the sources told the Chronicle. An acquaintance told The New York Times the suspect had lost touch with friends and family after undergoing major surgery for debilitating, chronic back pain in July 2023.
Read the full story.
California police identified CEO shooting suspect Luigi Mangione days before arrest
Luigi Mangione’s mother had reported her son missing to California police two weeks before the shooting of Brian Thompson
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: Luigi Mangione’s mugshot emblazoned on stickers and t-shirts after murder charge
Mangione allegedly suffered from chronic pain. It’s a problem plaguing more than a third of Americans
Luigi Mangione, the alleged perpetrator in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, reportedly suffered from chronic back pain.
Posts on the content-sharing platform Reddit under the now-defunct username “Mister_Cactus” appeared to reference the 26-year-old’s extensive health problems. The user referred to “spondy,” which is commonly known as spondylolisthesis.
Spondylolisthesis is a condition caused by a vertebra slipping out of place and putting pressure on the bones below. While it commonly occurs in older adults due to a type of arthritis, a common disease that causes joint inflammation and stiffness, it can also be brought on by trauma, spinal destabilization, bone disease, or a birth defect.
Julia Musto has the full story.
Luigi Mangione suffered from chronic pain. It’s plagues a third of Americans
Chronic pain originates from various sources and is defined as any pain persisting beyond 3 months
Timeline of the manhunt
December 4: The suspect set off from an Upper West Side hostel before dawn. He was seen on surveillance video walking back and forth at 54th Street and Sixth Avenue, near the Hilton Hotel where the UnitedHealthcare Group was holding its conference. After opening fire, the suspect fled by bike through Central Park before getting into a cab and was later spotted at a bus station. A manhunt ensued.
December 5: Investigators revealed a cryptic message carved onto the shell casings: “delay,” “deny” and “depose.” NYPD also released images of the suspect.
December 6: Police announce they believe the suspect has left New York City, expanding the desperate search. A backpack, thought to belong to the suspect, was found in Central Park and sent in for forensic testing. The now-viral “flirtatious” photo of the suspect speaking to a hostel worker was released.
December 7: NYPD releases another photo of the suspect, this time in the back of a taxi. The FBI also joined the hunt for the suspect, offering a $50,000 reward for information.
December 8: Although no leads on the suspect’s whereabouts were made public, investigators revealed the contents of the backpack included Monopoly money and a Tommy Hilfiger jacket.
December 9: A private service for Brian Thompson was held. Also that day, a McDonald’s employee in Altoona, Pennsylvania tipped recognized Mangione from the photos circulated by police. He was arrested in Pennsylvania on gun charges and hours later faced a murder charge in New York.
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.
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
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.