The person accused of taking pictures lifeless healthcare insurance coverage CEO Brian Thompson in New York jostled with police and shouted at reporters as he was bundled into court docket on Tuesday, as extra particulars emerged a couple of potential motive within the killing.
Luigi Mangione appeared at an extradition listening to in Pennsylvania. His lawyer mentioned the 26-year-old would contest being moved to New York to face homicide fees.
“He is pleading not responsible to these offences,” the lawyer mentioned. “I have never seen any proof that he is the shooter.”
Totally different US states have totally different legal guidelines and judicial programs, so there’s a course of concerned within the switch of fugitives, which may take days or perhaps weeks.
Sporting an orange jumpsuit, Mr Mangione tried to deal with reporters as he arrived for the listening to. He was heard shouting “utterly unjust” and “insult to the intelligence of the American folks” earlier than being taken into court docket by officers.
Mr Mangione was arrested on Monday after being noticed at a Pennsylvania department of McDonald’s, following a days-long manhunt that spanned a number of states. He was allegedly discovered with a gun much like the homicide weapon, a silencer and a faux ID.
Three handwritten pages had been allegedly additionally in his possession. New York police mentioned they took these to be a declare of accountability in Mr Thompson’s deadly taking pictures, since they appeared to report frustrations with the US healthcare system.
The UnitedHealthcare chief government, 50, was gunned down by a masked man exterior a Manhattan resort in what authorities have known as a focused assault.
Mr Mangione was denied bail for a second time on Tuesday, after prosecutors mentioned he was too harmful to be launched.
The decide then gave prosecutors 30 days to hunt a warrant from New York Governor Kathy Hochul to safe his extradition to the state.
Hochul later mentioned she would offer one. “I’m co-ordinating with the District Legal professional’s Workplace and can signal a request for a governor’s warrant to make sure this particular person is tried and held accountable,” she mentioned.
Defence legal professionals even have a two-week window wherein to submit motions in opposition to Mr Mangione being moved to New York. The problem was described by a Pennsylvania prosecutor as creating “extra hoops… to leap by”.
Mr Mangione appeared round on the rows of reporters in court docket and smiled at occasions. At one level, he interrupted his personal lawyer, who shortly quietened him.
Following the listening to on Tuesday afternoon, that lawyer, Thomas Dickey, spoke to reporters exterior court docket. “You possibly can’t rush to judgement on this case or any case,” he mentioned. “He is presumed harmless. Let’s not overlook that.”
Mr Mangione has been charged with a number of offences in Pennsylvania, together with offering fraudulent identification to police and possessing an unlicensed firearm. He’s being held at a Pennsylvania state jail and can plead not responsible.
In New York, he faces separate fees together with homicide for Mr Thompson’s killing on 4 December.
Mr Thompson was named chief government of the corporate, which is the biggest non-public insurer within the US, in April 2021.
He had obtained threats earlier than his dying regarding medical protection, based on his widow, Paulette Thompson, however a motive for his killing has not been urged by prosecutors.
On Tuesday, nonetheless, as police pored by proof and labored to piece collectively Mr Mangione’s actions after the taking pictures, extra particulars emerged about his alleged grievances with the medical health insurance trade.
New York Police Division’s Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny informed Good Morning America that he had learn a three-page handwritten observe allegedly discovered on the suspect when he was arrested.
“He does make some indication that he is pissed off with the healthcare system in the US,” he mentioned. “He was writing loads about his disdain for company America and specifically the healthcare trade.”
The observe, which has been seen by a number of US media shops, reportedly refers to “parasites” that “had it coming”. He additionally allegedly writes that he acted alone.
EPAFormer buddies who spoke to the BBC mentioned Mr Mangione had suffered from a again harm. They mentioned he had left a browsing neighborhood in Hawaii over the summer season of 2023 to endure spinal surgical procedure.
RJ Martin, a former roommate of the suspect who knew him in Hawaii, mentioned the harm “prohibited him, at occasions, from simply doing many regular issues”.
Varied particulars of Mr Mangione’s background have surfaced since his arrest. He was born in Maryland, to a rich, well-known household, and police say he has ties to San Francisco, California. His last-known handle was in Honolulu, Hawaii.
He attended the College of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League faculty, the place he earned a bachelor’s and a grasp’s diploma in software program engineering.
Native media reported that Mr Mangione’s mom had reported him lacking final month, telling authorities in San Francisco that she had not heard from her son since July.
“Our household is shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest,” Mr Mangione’s household mentioned in an announcement posted on social media by his cousin. “We provide our prayers to the household of Brian Thompson and we ask folks to wish for all concerned.”
With extra reporting from Nada Tawfik
