NEW YORK: The defense for the 27-year-old suspect accused of killing a top health insurance executive in New York sought to exclude evidence presented by the prosecution as he appeared in court for a second day on Tuesday. Luigi Mangione is charged with the second-degree murder of Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, the largest US health insurer. Thompson, 50, was shot dead on a Manhattan street on December 4, 2024. Mangione, who comes from a wealthy Boston family, has become a lightning rod for anger against the US commercial healthcare system, but also a reminder of growing incidents of deadly violence perpetrated against public figures in the country. His lawyers requested a preliminary hearing in the murder case brought by the State of New York. Mangione was arrested at a McDonald&#39;s restaurant in the state of Pennsylvania, days after last year&#39;s shooting. Police found in his backpack a pistol equipped with a silencer and a notebook where he wrote grievances against the healthcare system. According to police, the bullet shell casings at the murder scene matched the weapon Mangione was carrying. But Mangione&#39;s lawyers argue that the defendant&#39;s rights were violated. In their motion, seen by AFP, they say that the evidence recovered from his backpack &quot;must be suppressed because law enforcement failed to obtain a search warrant before searching the backpack.&quot; They also argue that Mangione&#39;s statements to police inside the McDonald&#39;s should be excluded &quot;as they were the result of custodial interrogation without Miranda warnings&quot; about his rights. In September, a judge threw out two terror charges against Mangione, but he is still accused of second-degree murder. If convicted, he could face life imprisonment without parole. He also faces federal charges.

Americas

Mangione has become a lightning rod for anger against the US commercial healthcare system, but also a reminder of growing incidents of deadly violence perpetrated against public figures in the country.


Defense challenge evidence in killing of US health insurance CEO

NEW YORK: Lawyers for Luigi Mangione asked a New York federal judge Saturday to dismiss some criminal charges, including the only count for which he could face the death penalty, from a federal indictment brought against him in the December assassination of UnitedHealthcare&rsquo;s chief executive. In papers filed in Manhattan federal court, the lawyers said prosecutors should also be prevented from using at trial his statements to law enforcement officers and his backpack where a gun and ammunition were found. They said Mangione was not read his rights before he was questioned by law enforcement officers, who arrested him after Brian Thompson was fatally shot as he arrived at a Manhattan hotel for an investor conference. They added that officers did not obtain a warrant before searching Mangione&#39;s backpack. Mangione, 27, has pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges in the fatal shooting of Brian Thompson on Dec. 4 as he arrived at a Manhattan hotel for his company&rsquo;s annual investor conference. The killing set off a multi-state search after the suspected shooter slipped away from the scene and rode a bike to Central Park, before taking a taxi to a bus depot that offers service to several nearby states. Five days later, a tip from a McDonald&rsquo;s about 233 miles (375 kilometers) away in Altoona, Pennsylvania, led police to arrest Mangione. He has been held without bail since then. Last month, lawyers for Mangione asked that his federal charges be dismissed and the death penalty be taken off the table as a result of public comments by US Attorney General Pam Bondi. In April, Bondi directed prosecutors in New York to seek the death penalty, calling the killing of Thompson a &ldquo;premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America.&rdquo; Murder cases are usually tried in state courts, but prosecutors have also charged Mangione under a federal law on murders committed with firearms as part of other &ldquo;crimes of violence.&rdquo; It&rsquo;s the only charge for which Mangione could face the death penalty, since it&#39;s not used in New York state. The papers filed early Saturday morning argued that this charge should be dismissed because prosecutors have failed to identify the other offenses that would be required to convict him, saying that the alleged other crime &mdash; stalking &mdash; is not a crime of violence. The assassination and its aftermath has captured the American imagination, setting off a cascade of resentment and online vitriol toward US health insurers while rattling corporate executives concerned about security. After the killing, investigators found the words &ldquo;delay,&rdquo; &ldquo;deny&rdquo; and &ldquo;depose,&rdquo; written in permanent marker on ammunition at the scene. The words mimic a phrase used by insurance industry critics.

Luigi Mangione’s lawyers seek dismissal of key federal charges in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO, arguing his rights were violated during arrest and questioning, and challenging the charge that carries potential death penalty eligibility.

Articles tagged with "Luigi Mangione"

Defense challenge evidence in killing of US health insurance CEO

Mangione seeks dismissal of death penalty charge in UnitedHealthcare CEO Killing