The accused killer of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO is being held in a Brooklyn jail, where Sean “Diddy” Combs is being jailed.
Luigi Mangione, 26, is locked up at the Metropolitan Detention Center. He appeared in federal court in Manhattan Thursday after waiving extradition in Pennsylvania.
He’s accused of traveling from Georgia to allegedly stalk and kill Brian Thompson and said he targeted the health care industry because “it checked every box” one of a number of entries in a notebook in which the suspect discussed the plot in the weeks before the brazen crime, according to a federal criminal complaint.
Mangione was hit with four federal charges Thursday, including stalking, a firearms offense involving a silencer, and murder through use of a firearm, a charge that makes him eligible for the death penalty.
The federal complaint contains previously unreleased excerpts from the notebook that police said they seized from Mangione. Authorities said the writings “express hostility towards the health insurance industry and wealthy executives in particular.”
According to the complaint, an entry marked Aug. 15, 2024, said “the details are finally coming together,” and, “I’m glad — in a way — that I’ve procrastinated, bc (because) it alowed me to learn more about (acronym for Company-1).”
The entry also said that “the target is insurance” because “it checks every box,” the complaint said. In an entry marked Oct. 22, 2024, the writings said, “1.5 months. This investor conference is a true windfall … and — most importantly — the message becomes self evident.”
Later on in the entry, the pages describe an intent to “wack” the CEO of one of the insurance companies at its investor conference, the complaint said.
Mangione made his initial appearance in Manhattan federal court Thursday afternoon, hours after the unsealing of the criminal complaint.
He stepped into a packed federal courtroom for an appearance before Magistrate Judge Katharine Parker.
He answered “yes” to several questions from Judge Parker, but mainly kept his head down reading along as she summarized the charges in the complaint. He did not enter a plea.
Defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo said Mangione would not initially contest pretrial detention. He was taken into custody.
“We’re going to respectfully decline to make any comment at this time, but Mr. Mangione appreciates everyone’s support. Thank you so much,” Agnifilio said.
The next court date is January 18, 2025 unless an indictment is secured beforehand.
The prosecutor noted the Manhattan DA’s office has a parallel case.
“That case is proceeding and our office is in consultation with them,” Gentile said.
Agnifilo said Mangione was prepared to appear in state court and complained the federal charges were sprung on her client.
“This is a highly unusual situation we find ourselves in,” Agnifilo said. “I have never seen anything like that.”
She said the theories of the two cases appear to be in conflict, noting the state case accused Mangione of terrorizing a group of people while the federal case accused him of stalking an individual.
Mangione agreed to return to New York after a morning court appearance in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested last week after five days on the run.
“This is in his best interest, and we’re moving forward,” Mangione’s Pennsylvania defense attorney Thomas Dickey said.
The 26-year-old Ivy League graduate is accused of ambushing and shooting Brian Thompson on Dec. 4 outside a Manhattan hotel where the head of the United States’ largest medical insurance company was walking to an investor conference.
Authorities have said Mangione was carrying the gun used to kill Thompson, a passport, fake IDs and about $10,000 when he was arrested while eating breakfast on Dec. 9 at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
When Mangione was apprehended, he had a 9 mm handgun with a 3D-printed receiver, a homemade silencer, two ammunition magazines and live cartridges, prosecutors said.
Madukwe B. Nwabuisi is an accomplished journalist renown for his fearless reporting style and extensive expertise in the field. He is an investigative journalist, who has established himself as a kamikaze reporter.
