A lawyer representing Luigi Mangione, the accused in a high-profile assassination case, has criticized the proposed trial timeline set by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, describing it as “unrealistic.” The defense team is already gearing up for a federal trial, which overlaps with the suggested state court schedule.
In a statement released Wednesday evening, attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo expressed surprise at the DA’s request for a July 1 start date, stating, “This is the first time that the defense is hearing about this request.” She emphasized the logistical challenges, noting that “the federal government already has a firm trial date set in September.” According to Agnifilo, Mangione’s defense team needs the remainder of the year to adequately prepare for the federal proceedings. The team intends to formally address the court regarding this scheduling conflict soon.
Luigi Mangione, who stands accused of murdering Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, recently appeared in Manhattan’s State Supreme Court for an evidence suppression hearing related to his case.
Meanwhile, U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett has tentatively slated federal jury selection for September 8, with the trial expected to commence later in the year. This timing depends on her forthcoming decision regarding a defense motion to dismiss the two most severe charges against Mangione. If successful, the dismissal of the murder charge involving a firearm would eliminate the possibility of the death penalty, potentially accelerating the trial’s start date.
U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett tentatively set federal jury selection for Sept. 8, with the trial to start either in the fall or winter, depending on how she rules on a defense motion to dismiss the two most serious charges.
If the defense succeeds in dismissing the most serious charge, murder through use of a firearm, the potential death penalty would be removed, and the trial would begin earlier.
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson pictured in an undated portrait provided by UnitedHealth. The executive was shot from behind and killed on his way to an investor conference in New York City in what prosecutors have described as a politically motivated assassination. (AP Photo/UnitedHealth Group via AP)
Assistant Manhattan District Attorney Joel Seidemann called the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson a “cold-blooded execution” in a letter to New York Judge Gregory Carro Wednesday.
Read the letter:
Seidemann wrote that it was the NYPD that led the investigation, that Mangione was first indicted by a state judge and that federal prosecutors did not become involved until after the suspect had been arrested.
He said the state has an interest in taking Mangione to trial before the feds do.
A member of the NYPD Crime Scene Unit takes a picture of a shell casing found at the scene where UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed in Manhattan, in New York City, U.S., December 4, 2024. (REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton)
“In sum, the state has an overriding interest in trying this defendant for the cold-blooded execution of Brian Thompson on December 4, 2024,” he wrote. “It resulted in the tragic death of a guest to our city on our streets. Federal law supports our request that we proceed first, and our right to a speedy resolution of this case would be severely compromised should the federal trial proceed first.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, which is handling Mangione’s federal case, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the July 1 request.
Mangione faces a stiffer potential sentence at the federal level if convicted. In New York, Judge Carro already gave Bragg’s office a blow when he dismissed terrorism charges that would have carried a maximum sentence of life without parole.
Luigi Mangione is confronted by Altoona, Pennsylvania police in a McDonald’s shortly before his arrest for allegedly murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. (Altoona Police Department)
If Mangione were convicted of second-degree murder in New York, parole would be on the table.
He also faces lesser charges in Pennsylvania, where police arrested him days after Thompson’s murder in New York City.
Thompson, a 50-year-old father of two, lived in Minnesota and came to the Big Apple for a business conference with Wall Street investors. Surveillance video shows a hooded gunman approach him from behind outside the host hotel and shoot him multiple times in the back.
Federally, Mangione faces charges including interstate stalking and murder through use of a firearm.
He has pleaded not guilty.
