HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa.—A Pennsylvania judge ordered Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old man suspected of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, to face trial in New York after a Dec. 19 hearing in a Pennsylvania court.
Blair County Court of Common Pleas Judge David Consiglio verbally issued an order after Mangione’s attorney, Thomas Dickey, said the defense agreed to a waiver of extradition.
Mangione faces multiple charges in New York, including first-degree murder.
“What we did today, we feel clearly was in his best interest at this time, and that’s why we did what we did, and we’re ready to move forward,” Thomas Dickey, Mangione’s Pennsylvania-based attorney, told reporters as he left the courthouse.
Dickey said he will continue to represent Mangione alongside his client’s New York defense attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo.
Mangione appeared at the hearing in an orange jumpsuit. At least half a dozen officers from the sheriff’s office could be seen in the courtroom, while the front row was lined with individuals wearing NYPD Police vests and jackets.
Outside the courtroom, individuals carried signs supporting the suspect, such as one that read “Free Luigi” and “Privatized Healthcare Is a Crime Against Humanity!”
After a request from the commonwealth, Consiglio ordered that Mangione would not return to SCI-Huntingdon, a state correctional institution.
During an initial hearing, Dickey told a magistrate judge that he sought to expedite the discovery process and would be willing to waive a preliminary hearing in exchange for the prosecution providing an Altoona police report. Mangione was apprehended at an Altoona McDonald’s earlier this month.
If convicted, Mangione faces a maximum penalty of life in prison without parole.
“This type of premeditated, targeted gun violence cannot and will not be tolerated, and my office has been working day in and day out to bring the defendant to justice,” Bragg said in a Dec. 17 statement. “I want to extend my heartfelt prayers to Mr. Thompson’s loved ones as they continue to grieve.”
Upon Mangione’s Dec. 9 arrest, police officers found in his possession a 9-millimeter “ghost” handgun with a 3D-printed receiver, two ammunition magazines, multiple live cartridges, a homemade silencer, and a fake New Jersey ID bearing the name Mark Rosario.
Prosecutors say that Mangione used the ID to check into the HI New York City Hostel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side on Nov. 24, where he extended his stay “multiple times.” They allege that on the morning of Dec. 4, he waited outside the New York Hilton Midtown hotel for Thompson to appear and then approached the executive from behind, shooting him once in the back and once in the leg. He then purportedly fled the state.
Thompson was transferred to Mt. Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
From the scene, investigators recovered two shell casings and one bullet with the words “DENY,” “DEPOSE,” and “DELAY” written on them.
Mangione’s family members said they were “shocked and devastated” by his arrest in a Dec. 9 statement shared via social media.
“We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved,” they said.
