LUIGI Mangione, the man accused of assassinating UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, has made a new claim that could spare him the death penalty.
The latest allegations made by his lawyers threaten to see federal charges against him dropped and key evidence dismissed from his upcoming trial.
A masked gunman assassinated the CEO outside a hotel in New York City in December 2024[/caption]
It comes just weeks after two terror-related charges in his New York state case were dismissed by a judge after Mangione’s legal team argued that in the state of New York, terrorism is an attack on multiple people not one person.
In the New York case, he still faces a second-degree murder charge which could get him life in prison, but he also has two other cases in Pennsylvania as well as another with federal prosecutors seeking the death penalty.
The 27-year-old from Maryland was arrested last year after a five-day manhunt for the masked shooter who gunned down Thompson in broad daylight on a New York City sidewalk on December 4.
On Saturday, his lawyers called on a New York federal judge to drop some of the criminal charges against him, including the single one he faces that could see him get the death penalty if found guilty.
They filed papers in Manhattan federal court claiming that the prosecution should not be allowed to use any statements Mangione gave to law enforcement after his arrest when he goes to trial.
This is because they say he was not read his rights before being questioned.
They further claim that officers failed to get a search warrant before going through his backpack where they allegedly discovered ammunition and a firearm.
In their indictment of Mangione, federal prosecutors charged him under a statute that allows capital punishment for those convicted of murder with the use of a firearm in furtherance of another violent crime.
However, Mangione’s lawyers argue that the statute is not applicable to his case as the crime of stalking, which he is also accused of, is not “a crime of violence” and does not fulfil the requirements for conviction.
It comes just a month after they initially called to have all federal charges against their client dropped due to comments about the case made by US Attorney General Pam Bondi and New York Mayor Eric Adams.
In April, Bondi publicly instructed federal prosecutors to pursue capital punishment in the case calling Thompson’s murder a “premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America”.
Such comments in the public sphere have prejudiced the case and will unfairly impact the trial, Mangione’s legal team claim.
“She assured the country, including the grand jurors, that she gave the matter ‘careful consideration’ and that her expert opinion, as the head of the Department of Justice and nation’s highest ranking law enforcement officer, was that Mangione warranted execution,” they claimed.
They added that any potential jurors have been “imprinted with a scene out of a Marvel movie befitting a captured cartel chief or comic book villain”.
Timeline of Brian Thompson’s murder
BRIAN Thompson, the 50-year-old CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was shot to death in Manhattan in an execution-like killing.
Here is everything we know about Thompson’s murder so far.
Monday, December 2 – Thompson travels from his home in Minnesota to New York City for an investor conference in Midtown Manhattan.
Wednesday, December 4, 6:45 am – Thompson walks from his hotel across the street to the New York Hilton Midtown and is murdered by a masked shooter. The execution was caught on surveillance, and the suspect was seen biking away toward Central Park. Cops spark a citywide search for the assassin.
11:30 am – Cops released disturbing images of the execution, offered a reward for information, and made a desperate plea for New Yorkers to keep their eyes out.
12:00 pm – Thompson’s estranged wife Paulette revealed her husband had been threatened before he was shot.
2:45 pm – Cops released more eerie images of the suspect ordering at Starbucks that partially revealed his face. The U.S. Sun confirmed the coffee shop was just two blocks away from the shooting, but it’s unclear when he stopped by.
December 5, 6 am – Reports claim the words “deny,” “dispose,” and “defend” were engraved on live rounds and shell casings left behind by the assassin. These words echo the book Delay, Deny, Defend, which is about the failings of the healthcare industry. The author of the book had no comment on the reports.
8 am– Cops raid a hostel in the Upper West Side of New York City where the suspect is said to have stayed. It’s believed he wore a mask for most of the time he was there.
11 am – A person of interest in Thompson’s murder is pictured. He’s wearing a hood in the photo, but his full face could be seen breaking into a beaming grin. Still, no arrests have been made in the investigation.
Afternoon – Law enforcement confirms the suspect arrived in New York City on a Greyhound bus on November 24. It’s also confirmed that the suspect dropped a burner cell phone near the scene of the shooting.
December 6, 3 pm – Police announce they believe the killer has left New York City via interstate bus. They release more surveillance footage that shows him taking a taxi to the George Washington Bridge Bus Station.
December 9 – Luigi Mangione, 26, is arrested as a “strong person of interest” at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He was carrying a three-page manifesto, fake IDs, and a gun similar to the one used in Thompson’s murder.
Speaking of both Bondi and Adams’ public comments, the defense claimed that “with every press conference concerning Mr. Mangione, there was no mention of his presumption of innocence or his right to due process.”
The alleged assassin has pleaded not guilty to all state and federal charges against him.
He has been held without bail since his arrest.
A ruling on the latest motions by Mangione’s lawyers is yet to be made.
Prosecutors have until October 31 to respond and he is set to appear in court for the federal case on December 5.
In New York Mangione faces:
- One count of Second-Degree Murder
- Two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the second degree
- Four counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the third degree
- One count of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the fourth degree
- One count of Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the second degree
Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania he faces charges of:
- Forgery
- Carrying a firearm without a license
- Tampering with records or identification
- Possessing instruments of a crime and false identification
