Federal prosecutors are investigating whether Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the murder of the United Healthcare CEO, should be charged, two sources familiar with the case told NBC News on Wednesday.
If federal charges are filed, New York state’s murder case against Mangione would take priority, the sources said.
Mangione, 26, was indicted Tuesday on first-degree murder and other charges in connection with the targeted killing of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, who authorities say was shot from behind as he walked on a Manhattan sidewalk on Dec. 4 .
New York police said Mangione targeted Thompson, possibly because of the size of the private health insurance company he ran. United Healthcare is the largest private health insurer in the United States.
Mangione was charged with first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism, in addition to charges of second-degree murder and other charges.
In New York, a first-degree murder charge requires a special circumstance beyond intent, such as the murder of a witness, murder for hire, the murder of a police officer, or the murder of someone in furtherance of terrorism.
Karen Friedman Agnifilo, one of the attorneys representing Mangione in the New York charges, said Wednesday evening that they “stand ready to fight these charges in whatever court they are brought.”
“The federal government’s reported decision to add on top of an already overcharged case of first-degree murder and state terrorism is highly unusual and raises serious constitutional and statutory concerns about double jeopardy,” she said.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Tuesday that Thompson’s ambush killing was “intended to cause shock, attention and intimidation.”
Mangione, wearing a hooded jacket and a mask, waited near a hotel for nearly an hour for Thompson to arrive and then shot him from behind around 6:45 a.m. with a 9mm pistol equipped with a suppressor, Bragg said.
Mangione was arrested on December 9 in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after he was recognized in security photos distributed by the New York Police Department and the FBI.
He is being held in Pennsylvania and has contested his extradition to New York. A hearing is scheduled for Thursday.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the federal prosecutor’s office in Manhattan, declined to comment.
Representatives of the FBI and New York Police Department also declined to comment.
If convicted of first-degree murder or first-degree murder as an act of terrorism, Mangione could face life in prison without parole, Bragg said. If convicted of a regular manslaughter charge, the maximum sentence would be 25 years to life, Bragg said.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
