Luigi Mangione seeks to dismiss the federal charge against him that would make him eligible for the death penalty for the 2024 murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
In documents filed in Manhattan federal court on Saturday (Oct. 11), Mangione's defense attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, argues that the charge against her client that makes him eligible for the death penalty, Murder Through Use of a Firearm, shouldn't stick. Her reasoning is that the language of that charge refers to his alleged stalking and cyberstalking of Thompson — which are themselves separate charges Mangione is facing — as "crimes of violence."
"[A]s a matter of law, the stalking offenses...are not 'crimes of violence,'" Friedman Agnifilo writes. Therefore, she continues, the Murder Through Use of a Firearm charge, as well as a related firearms offense, must be dismissed.
Mangione, who studied engineering and computer science at the University of Pennsylvania, is accused of killing Thompson outside a Hilton in Midtown Manhattan on December 4, 2024. The late businessman was preparing to attend the UnitedHealthcare annual investor conference that morning. A near week-long manhunt was conducted before Mangione was detained at an Altoona, Pennsylvania, McDonalds and taken into custody.
In April, Mangione was charged in federal court with two counts of stalking, a firearms violation and murder with a firearm — the last of which, as mentioned, carries the death penalty if the 27-year-old is found guilty. He is facing separate state charges in both New York and Pennsylvania.
Discovered on bullet casings from Thompson's murder were threatening messages inscribed, including "deny," "defend" and "depose," which allegedly references health insurance companies' unwillingness to cover certain claims.
Also found in Mangione's backpack was the alleged firearm, a false ID and red notebook with journal entries. "I finally feel confident about what I will do," one read. "The target is insurance. It checks every box."
Last month, Mangione had a small victory when the judge in New York state's case against him dismissed two counts of first-and second-degree murder, calling the terrorism-related offenses "legally insufficient."