A federal judge has indicted 26-year-old Luigi Mangione in the killing of a UnitedHealth Group (UNH.N) executive, allowing prosecutors to seek death penalty in the high-profile case, according to court filings on Thursday.
Mangione is accused of murdering Brian Thompson, the CEO of the American health insurance company UnitedHealthcare, on December 4 last year outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel, New York. The attack occurred during an investor conference hosted by the healthcare giant, drawing national attention and sparking a five-day manhunt.
He was indicted on one count of murder with firearm, another firearms offence, and two oocunts of stalking. If convicted on these charges, he would be eligible for the death penalty, CBS News reporeted.
“Mangione traveled across state lines via an interstate bus line for the purpose of stalking and killing Brian Thompson,” the indictment read.
Mangione is already facing state murder and weapons charges in New York, which does not have capital punishment. While the federal indictment does not include new charges, it significantly raises the potential consequences for Mangione, who has pleaded not guilty in the state case, news agency Reuters reported.
A hearing in the federal case is set for Friday in Manhattan federal court.
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Mangione Faces Death Penalty
Mangione’s legal team has filed a motion to prevent federal prosecutors from seeking the death penalty, saying that US Attorney General Pam Bondi’s April 1 announcement that prosecutors would seek the death penalty was “unapologetically political” and a violation of established federal protocol for death penalty decisions.
If the court denies that motion and Mangione is convicted federally, a separate penalty phase would follow, where jurors must unanimously recommend the death penalty for it to be imposed.
Thompson’s killing shocked the business world and prompted widespread condemnation from public officials. However, there were some who viewed Mangione’s actions as a protest against the soaring healthcare costs and influence of insurance companies in treatment decisions.
Authorities have alleged that Mangione meticulously planned the 50-year-old executive’s killing. After fatally shooting Thompson, he fled into Central Park on a bike and then took a cab to the George Washington Bridge Bus Station in upper Manhattan.
Police found the words “delay,” “deny,” and possibly “depose” written in Sharpie on shell casings discovered at the crime scene. Later, the investigators, whole searching for the motive behind the killing, found out that Mangione was never a UnitedHealthcare customer, the CBS news reported.
Mangione is currently being held in federal custody in Brooklyn. He was arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on December 9.
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