A top New York City attorney has been hired to represent Luigi Mangione in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Karen Friedman Agnifilo will be representing Mangione in New York. The suspect is also facing charges in Pennsylvania and is currently fighting extradition to New York, CNN reported. Police sources believe Mangione took a train to Pennsylvania, where he was captured on Monday.
Agnifilo has worked in private practice since 2021 and has experience in New York City’s criminal justice system. She spent seven years as the chief assistant district attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
Mangione’s supporters are donating thousands of dollars for “defense funds” that have been established for him. Amid fears the shooting suspect is being turned into a martyr, several fundraisers have been set up for him online, with one created by anonymous group ‘The December 4th Legal Committee’ surpassing more than $90,000 in donations on the crowdfunding website GiveSendGo by Saturday.
The group’s name is an apparent reference to the day the 26-year-old allegedly gunned down Mr Thompson in Midtown Manhattan.
Other campaigns soliciting donations for Mangione’s defense have been taken down by sites, such as GoFundMe, reported ABC News.
Police revealing alleged shooter may have boarded train to Pennsylvania
Police previously thought that the suspect boarded a bus to Pennsylvania, where he was eventually caught on Monday. Cops said they believed the shooter had stopped off at different locations around the state.
But according to the New York Post, that’s no longer the case.
Investigators said they thought the suspect had taken a bus because he was seen on surveillance video at the George Washington Bridge bus station. Now, they think he took the subway from the bus station to Penn Station and bought a train ticket to Pennsylvania before he was caught, CBS News and ABC News reported, citing police sources.
Watch: Luigi Mangione’s mugshot emblazoned on stickers and t-shirts after murder charge
Alleged shooter’s mom was reportedly contacted by FBI before his arrest
Kathleen Mangione was contacted by federal investigators the night before her son was arrested and told them he looked like the person in the photos released by the New York City Police Department, according to the NY Post.
The FBI had received a tip from San Francisco police after an official in California said he recognized the man in the pictures and tipped off federal authorities. Members of the Joint Violent Crimes Task Force then spoke to Mangione’s mother about her son, asking her about a missing person’s report her family had filed in November.
According to The Post, the man’s mother wasn’t completely confident that was actually her son in the images.
Poll: Young Americans favor Luigi Mangione over UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson
A poll released on Friday reveals that young Americans are more likely to favor the suspected killer over his alleged victim.
The Center for Strategic Politics reported that out of 455 adults surveyed on December 11, 31 percent of adults under 45 were nearly four times as likely to view Mangione favorably. That’s compared to only 16 percent who saw Brian Thompson favorably.
Who is Karen Friedman Agnifilo?
Here, The Independent takes a look at what we know about Ms Agnifilo:
A Boston crowd cheered when a DJ put up a picture of Luigi Mangione
A group of partygoers in Boston reportedly cheered when a DJ put a photo of Luigi Mangione on a big screen.
See the footage below.
WATCH: UnitedHealthcare CEO killing: Mounting evidence piling up
‘Wanted’ posters of healthcare execs crop up in Manhattan after Brian Thompson murder
The New York Police Department issued a bulletin on Tuesday warning that health insurance executives might be at risk after “wanted” posters featuring their images and salaries appeared around Manhattan.
The bulletin comes in the wake of the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last week.
The NYPD suggested that Luigi Mangione, the 24-year-old man arrested on suspicion of shooting Thompson, may be viewed as a “martyr” by some, and could inspire other attacks.
The bulletin notes that the shooter’s actions could have the “capability to inspire a variety of extremists and grievance-driven malicious actors to violence,” which was first reported by ABC News.
Graig Graziosi has the full story.
Luigi Mangione’s family hired private investigator after he went missing, friend claims
Luigi Mangione’s family are said to have hired a private investigator to search for Brian Thompson’s suspected murderer after he cut communication with friends and family late last year, a friend said.
A friend who allegedly studied alongside Mangione at The Gilman School claimed that he stopped contact with his family at the end of 2023.
“I did know he was having some issues,” a schoolfriend told the Daily Mail. “He wasn’t talking with his family, and nobody could find him.
“They hired a private investigator, they were so worried.”
The friend claimed they’d been told that Mangione had struggled with pain medication due to an injury stemming from an accident.
“There was some sort of accident. I knew he was hurt some time ago and that led to the painkiller thing, and then the whole family issue,” he said. “I can’t confirm what the issue specifically was, but I know that he was estranged.”
The Mail claims that another schoolmate said had heard of Mangione’s alleged use of pain medication due to a chronic spinal injury.
Luigi Mangione retains Karen Friedman Agnifilo, a top New York attorney for his legal case
Luigi Mangione has retained a top New York attorney for his legal case.
The suspect in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has retained Karen Friedman Agnifilo to represent him as he faces a second-degree murder charge, CNN reported.
Ms Agnifilo, who has worked in private practice since 2021, has extensive experience in New York City’s criminal justice system, having formerly spent seven years as the chief assistant district attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
Source: independent.co.uk