Luigi Mangione indicted on first-degree murder charge in UnitedHealthcare CEO’s killing

Luigi Mangione was indicted on charges that include first-degree murder in the ambush killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson earlier this month, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.

The indictment on murder in the first-degree in furtherance of terrorism elevates the case against Mangione, 26, in Thompson’s killing outside a Manhattan hotel on Dec. 4.

The New York state Supreme Court indictment also charges Mangione with two counts of second-degree murder, one of which is charged as a killing in the act of terrorism; two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon; four counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon; one count of fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon; and one count of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, according to a statement from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

The charges began to pile up for Mangione after his arrest at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 9 after he was recognized following a massive manhunt.

He has been arraigned in Pennsylvania on felony charges of forgery and carrying a firearm without a license as well as misdemeanor allegations related to the alleged use of fraudulent identification.

Mangione was also charged in New York with murder, criminal possession of a weapon and possession of a forged instrument, and was fighting extradition.

A spokesperson for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul told NBC News she would file an extradition order and paperwork as soon as an indictment was handed down against Mangione.

His Pennsylvania attorney, Thomas Dickey, said Mangione would plead not guilty in the New York and Pennsylvania cases. Karen Friedman Agnifilo has been retained to represent Mangione on the New York charges.

When Mangione was arrested, police found a gun, a fake ID, a notebook and a handwritten document, officials have said.

The document criticized the broader health care industry in the United States, large corporations and specifically UnitedHealthcare, three senior law enforcement officials have said. The writings also say, in part, “frankly these parasites had it coming,” the officials said.

Thompson’s killing and the allegations against Mangione have stirred discourse and anger over the health insurance industry and health care system in the United States.

Before the shooting, Mangione had been missing for months. In mid-November, his family reported him missing to San Francisco police, according to a missing persons flyer in which his mother said she last spoke to her son on July 1.

He spent time in Hawaii in 2022 but aggravated longstanding back issues while surfing, those who knew him there have said.

Neither Mangione nor his parents were insured by UnitedHealthcare, UnitedHealth Group has said. Police have said the company may have been targeted because of its size.

Mangione is being held at Huntingdon State Correctional Institution in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, prison officials have said.