Luigi Mangione retained prominent attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo to represent him on New York charges in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
The company, Agnifilo Intrater LLC, confirmed that Friedman Agnifilo will represent him but declined to comment further.
“She will not be making any statements at this time,” the company said in a statement.
Friedman Agnifilo served as chief assistant district attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office under Cyrus Vance Jr. for seven years. She also served as head of the agency’s trial division for four years.
The days-long manhunt for the gunman ended Monday when Mangione, 26, was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where he was found eating at a McDonald’s restaurant and carrying a backpack that authorities said contained evidence linking him to the shooting from Thompson.
Mangione, who comes from a prominent Baltimore family, was charged in New York with one count of murder, three counts of criminal possession of a weapon and one count of possession of a forged instrument.
He was also charged in Pennsylvania with two felony counts of forgery and carrying a firearm without a license, as well as three misdemeanor counts of tampering with records or identification, possession of instruments of crime and providing false identification to law enforcement authorities.
Mangione remains imprisoned in his own cell at Huntingdon State Correctional Institution and is fighting extradition to New York. A spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections said he currently does not have access to a television, does not interact with other inmates and eats in his cell.
After the arrest, online fundraisers emerged in support of Mangione. At least three fundraisers appeared on GoFundMe, but have since been deleted. GoFundMe said it is reimbursing donors who contributed to the campaigns and that its terms of service prohibit fundraising for the legal defense of violent crimes.
Another crowdfunding platform, GiveSendGo, did not remove a fundraiser for Mangione’s legal defense. The fundraiser, which raised more than $94,000 as of Saturday morning, said it was “not here to celebrate violence, but we do believe in the constitutional right to fair legal representation.” The fundraising goal is $200,000.
It is not clear whether the donations will help pay Mangione’s legal fees. His family could not be reached for comment on Saturday.
Pennsylvania attorney Thomas Dickey has said he had seen no evidence linking his client to the killing and that Mangione would plead not guilty to the charges in either state.
Dickey and Friedman Agnifilo could not immediately be reached for comment on Saturday.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
