NEW YORK — Luigi Mangione was charged Tuesday by the Manhattan district attorney with the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Mangione was hit with multiple charges, including one count of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder.
District Attorney Alvin Bragg and New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch will hold a press conference at 3:30 PM, which you can watch in the live player above.
“This type of premeditated, targeted gun violence cannot and will not be tolerated, and my office has worked day in and day out to bring the suspect to justice,” Bragg said in an earlier statement. “I would like to extend my sincerest prayers to Mr. Thompson’s loved ones as they continue to grieve.
“This ongoing investigation is the result of incredible cooperation at all levels with the NYPD, and I want to thank Commissioner Tisch and the prosecutors and detectives who worked together to arrest Mr. Mangione. He now faces a New York State Supreme Court indictment on three counts of murder and faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole,” he added.
Bragg’s announcement came as Mangione awaits his next court appearance in Pennsylvania, where he will be arraigned in connection with his Dec. 9 arrest.
Mangione’s is now extradited to New York. Bragg had said late last week the 26-year-old suspect was considering waiving his extradition after previously contesting it.
Mangione is currently being held in a Pennsylvania state prison on charges related to possession of a firearm and false ID.
Here’s what the Manhattan district attorney’s office is claiming
Bragg outlined the suspect’s movements before and after Thompson’s murder, claiming:
- Mangione arrived at the Port Authority on a bus on November 24 and checked into the HI New York City Hostel on the Upper West Side, where he used a fake New Jersey ID under the name Mark Rosario. The suspect has extended his stay at the hostel several times.
- On the morning of December 4, Mangione left the hostel at 5:34 a.m. and traveled to Midtown by e-bike. Between 5:52 a.m. and 6:45 a.m. he was walking near and around the Hilton Hotel. At about 6:15 a.m., he bought a water bottle and granola bars at the Starbucks at 1290 Sixth Ave.
- Between approximately 6:38 a.m. and 6:44 a.m., Mangione stood against a wall on the north side of West 54th Street across from the Hilton, fully masked with his hood up.
- At 6:45 a.m., Mangione crossed the street to the Hilton Hotel and, armed with a 9mm 3D printed ghost gun fitted with a silencer, approached Thompson from behind and shot him once in the back and once in the leg.
- Mangione then fled northeast on 54th Street and took an e-bike into town. He eventually got into a taxi, was dropped off at West 178th Street and Amsterdam Avenue and then fled the state.
The arrest of Luigi Mangione in Pennsylvania
Mangione was arrested on December 9 after a customer at a McDonald’s in AltoonaPennsylvania, saw him eating breakfast and noticed a resemblance to the person wanted by police in Thompson’s murder in Manhattan five days earlier.
Police said Mangione was found with a gun, mask and writings linking him to the ambush outside the Hilton Midtown in New York, where Thompson arrived for his company’s annual investor conference.
New York City police told CBS News there is no evidence that Mangione is a United Healthcare customer.
Hours after Mangione’s arrest in Pennsylvania, Bragg’s Manhattan office filed paperwork charging him with five counts, including intentional murder, criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a forged instrument.
Suspect adds powerful lawyer to defense
Mangione added prominent attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo to his legal team. Agnifilo was a high-ranking deputy in the Manhattan district attorney’s office for years before entering private practice. Friedman Agnifilo’s law firm, Agnifilo Intrater LLP, confirmed in a statement to CBS News on Saturday that she had been retained to represent Mangione.
The firm said Agnifilo, a longtime veteran of the Manhattan district attorney’s office, served as second-in-command under District Attorney Cyrus Vance for seven years, in addition to four years as head of the office’s litigation division.
