NEW YORK — Luigi Mangione was indicted Tuesday by the Manhattan District Attorney. in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Mangione was charged with eleven counts, including first-degree murder and murder as a terrorism crime.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch spoke about the indictment at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
“This was a chilling, well-planned and targeted murder intended to provoke shock, attention and intimidation,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said. “This happened in one of the busiest areas of our city, threatening the safety of local residents and tourists, commuters and business people as they begin their day.”
Bragg explained how his office can prove terrorism.
“This was a killing intended to incite terror, and we saw that reaction,” Bragg said. “You know, the statutory elements we can get into, but the most basic term is what this is about. This was not an ordinary murder. That’s not to say that all murder is ordinary, but it was extraordinary, and the New York State Legislature defined the two paths that we talked about, both murder one and murder two, and that, we contend, is certainly squarely within the scope of these statutes which speak of the intention of TO DO. “
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Bragg said the maximum sentence for first-degree murder and second-degree murder as an act of terrorism is life without parole, and a conviction for second-degree murder will result in a sentence of 25 years to life.
Mangione was also charged with multiple counts of criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a forged instrument for the fake ID that investigators say Mangione used to check into a hostel in Manhattan before the December 4 shooting.
“Today’s unsealing of the indictment brings us closer to achieving justice for Brian Thompson and his family and affirming the rule of law in the city of New York,” Tisch said.
Mangione will next appear in a Pennsylvania court on charges stemming from his December 9 arrest. His extradition procedure will follow. Bragg said 26-year-old suspect considered waiving extradition after already fighting itbut added that his office would be ready whatever the suspect’s decision.
Mangione is currently being held in a Pennsylvania state prison. for charges related to possession of a firearm and a false ID.
Here’s what the Manhattan district attorney’s office says
Bragg described the suspect’s movements before and after Thompson’s murder, alleging:
- Mangione arrived at the Port Authority on a bus on November 24 and checked into the HI New York City hostel on the Upper West Side, where he used a fake New Jersey ID under the name Mark Rosario. The suspect extended his stay at the hostel several times.
- Mangione left the hostel at 5:34 a.m. on the morning of December 4 and rode an electric bike to Midtown. Between 5:52 a.m. and 6:45 a.m., he walked near and around the Hilton Hotel. Around 6:15 a.m., he bought a bottle of water and granola bars at the Starbucks at 1290 Sixth Ave.
- Between approximately 6:38 a.m. and 6:44 a.m., Mangione stood against a wall on the north side of West 54th Street, across from the Hilton, fully masked, his hood pulled up.
- Mangione walked across the street to the Hilton Hotel at 6:45 a.m. and, armed with a 3D-printed 9mm ghost gun equipped with a silencer, approached Thompson from behind and shot him in the the back and once in the leg.
- Mangione then fled northeast on 54th Street and took an electric bike uptown. He eventually got into a taxi and was dropped off at West 178th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, then fled the state.
“NYPD detectives worked tirelessly to piece together this case, and along the way, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office made sure we had every legal tool at our disposal,” Tisch said.
The police commissioner cited “relentless collection and analysis of surveillance video” by detectives that ultimately produced a clear picture of the suspect that was disseminated by the media and the public, leading to his eventual arrest.
“This outcome is still why we emphasize the critical role of the public in our public safety mission,” Tisch said. “So, again, I want to thank everyone who saw something, said something and did something. That’s why we have a suspect in custody today.”
NYPD Commissioner Slams Suspect’s Online Celebration
“Let me be perfectly clear. In the almost two weeks since Mr. Thompson’s murder, we have witnessed a shocking and appalling celebration of cold-blooded murder. Social media has praise for this cowardly attack People gruesomely put up posters threatening other CEOs with an ‘X’ on Mr. Thompson’s photo, as if he were some kind of sick trophy,” Tisch said.
She also spoke about a report published in the New York Post about extremist activists circulating a deck of cards depicting other CEOs who should be targeted for assassination.
“These are threats from a violent, lawless mob who would trade their own activism for the rule of law that protects us all,” Tisch said. “Let me make this clear. There is no heroism in what Mangione did. It was a senseless act of violence. It was a cold, calculated crime that stole a life and put New- Yorkers in danger We do not celebrate murders and we do not glorify the killing of anyone.
“Any attempt at rationalization is despicable, reckless and offensive to our most deeply held principles of justice,” she added.
Luigi Mangione arrested in Pennsylvania
Mangione was arrested on December 9 after a customer of a McDonald’s in AltoonaPennsylvania, saw him eating breakfast and noticed a resemblance to the person police were looking for in Thompson’s Manhattan murder five days earlier.
Police said Mangione was found with a gun, a mask and writings linking him to the ambush outside New York’s Hilton Midtown, where Thompson was arriving for his company’s annual investor conference.
New York police told CBS News there was no indication Mangione was a UnitedHealthcare customer.
Hours after Mangione’s arrest in Pennsylvania, Bragg’s Manhattan office filed documents charging him with five counts, including intentional murder, criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a forged instrument.
The suspect surrounds himself with a high-level lawyer to defend himself
Mangione added Prominent defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo to her legal team. Agnifilo was a high-ranking deputy in the Manhattan district attorney’s office for years before going into private practice. Friedman Agnifilo’s law firm, Agnifilo Intrater LLP, confirmed in a statement to CBS News on Saturday that she had been retained to represent Mangione.
The company said Agnifilo, a longtime veteran of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, served as second-in-command for seven years under District Attorney Cyrus Vance, in addition to serving for four years as chief of the Division of first instance of the office.
