Luigi Mangione newest: Top New York legal professional tapped by CEO homicide suspect as ‘defense fund’ donations mount
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 $100,000 in donations on the crowdfunding website GiveSendGo by Sunday.
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.
Mangione not under suicide watch
The suspect in the shooting is being held in his own cell under maximum security at Huntingdon Correctional Facility in Pennsylvania.
Luigi Mangione is not under suicide watch or in solitary confinement, according to CBS News. However, he does not get to interact with other inmates.
Mangione has not been violent while in jail, according to officials.
He is being held in a Pennsylvania jail pending his extradition to New York to face murder charges in connection to the killing of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
No tips from Mangione’s family, cops say
NYPD officials said Luigi Mangione’s family did not send in any tips. That comes as their relative’s pictures were splashed all over news channels in the hours after the shooting.
Police said they received more than 200 tips as the manhunt for Mangione unfolded, but none came from family with the same name, according to USA Today.
It wwasn’tuntil the suspect was spotted in Pennsylvania that police swooped in to make an arrest in the case, nearly a week after the killing.
Luigi Mangione’s motive in doubt
Luigi Mangione’s potential motives in connection to the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson remain unclear, police say.
There is “no indication” that the shooting suspect, who is believed to have undergone back surgery last year, was ever a client of UnitedHealthcare, according to the NYPD’s Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny.
He said that the findings don’t appear to indicate that Mangione had a grudge against Thompson, who was gunned down in Midtown Manhattan on December 4, but targeted the company for its size and because he had prior knowledge of a conference taking place.
“We have no indication that he ever was a client of UnitedHealthcare, but he does make mention that it is the fifth largest corporation in America, which would make it the largest healthcare organization in America,” he told NBC New York.
WATCH: Will the Healthcare Industry Change After Death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson?
UnitedHealthcare didn’t insure Luigi Mangione
UnitedHealth Group, the parent company to UntiedHealthcare, said that Luigi Mangione was not a client of the health insurance company.
There is no record that the 26-year-old shooting suspect was ever insured by the company, UnitedHealth Group told NBC News.
Police also confirmed that there is “no indication” that Mangione was registered with UnitedHealthcare, whose CEO was murdered on December 4 in Midtown Manhattan.
“We have no indication that he was ever a client of United Healthcare, but he does make mention that it is the fifth-largest corporation in America, which would make it the largest health care organization in America,” Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told NBC New York.
Mangione’s defense fund surpasses $100k
More than $100,000 has been raised to pay for Luigi Mangione’s legal bills as he faces charges in both Pennsylvania and New York.
The December 4th Legal Committee launched the public appeal on Christian fundraising site GiveSendGo, which garnered the vast sum after the 26-year-old was changed in Altoona, Pennsylvania on Monday. The fundraiser has a goal of $200,000.
“We are dedicated to ensuring that he gets a fair trial with competent legal counsel,” said Carol Sherman, an organizer with the December 4th Legal Committee.
The group says that proceeds will go to “other political prisoners in the US” if Mangione’s charges are dropped, or he rejects the funds.
ICYMI: McDonald’s customer reflects on moment he spotted Luigi Mangione in fast food joint
UnitedHealth Group CEO admits healthcare system ‘doesn’t work as well as it should’
The CEO of UnitedHealth Group, the parent company to UnitedHealthcare, admitted that the US health system “doesn’t work as well as it should”.
Writing in a New York Times op-ed on Friday morning, Andrew Witty lamented the loss of Brian Thompson, the chief executive of United Healthcare, and addressed the US’s “patchwork” healthcare system.
The health insurance executive also wrote that he understood people’s frustrations with the health care system.
“We know the health system does not work as well as it should, and we understand people’s frustrations with it,” he wrote. “No one would design a system like the one we have. And no one did. It’s a patchwork built over decades.”
He continued: “Our mission is to help make it work better. We are willing to partner with anyone, as we always have – health care providers, employers, patients, pharmaceutical companies, governments and others – to find ways to deliver high-quality care and lower costs.
“Clearly, we are not there yet. We understand and share the desire to build a health care system that works better for everyone. That is the purpose of our organization.”
Watch: Retailers hawk merch with Mangione’s mugshot
Luigi Mangione’s mugshot emblazoned on stickers and t-shirts after CEO murder charge
Luigi Mangione’s new police mugshot has been put up for sale emblazoned on stickers and t-shirts. The 26-year-old has been charged with murder in connection to the death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside his Manhattan hotel on 4 December. Mangione is currently being held in a Pennsylvania jail without bond as he awaits extradition to New York where he faces a murder charge. He also faces charges for gun law violations in Pennsylvania. After the Altoona Police Department posted updated mugshots of the suspect, merchandise bearing the images was put up for sale online. Mangione was denied bail, is fighting extradition, and will remain in a Pennsylvania jail. He is set to plead not guilty to all charges, his attorney Thomas Dickey told NewsNation on Tuesday.
Source: independent.co.uk