Accused health-care CEO killer Luigi Mangione indicted on federal charges

Luigi Mangione has been indicted on murder and stalking charges after shooting UnitedHealthcare chief Brian Thompson in December. Photo / Spencer Platt / AFP

• Luigi Mangione has been indicted on murder and stalking charges in the Manhattan shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
• US Attorney General Pam Bondi says the Justice Department intends to seek the death penalty against Mangione.
• Mangione’s attorney says Bondi’s announcement violates normal practices and taints the grand jury process.

Luigi Mangione has been indicted in a United States federal court on murder and stalking charges in the fatal shooting in New York of UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson, including a count that makes him eligible for the death penalty.

The indictment formalises criminal charges filed in December after a frantic five-day manhunt that led to Mangione’s arrest at a McDonald’s restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He is facing a separate murder case in New York state court and is slated to face trial on those charges before his federal case goes to a jury.

Attorney General Pam Bondi recently announced the Justice Department’s intention to seek the death penalty against Mangione, a surprising move at the time because federal prosecutors in New York had not yet filed an indictment in connection with the December 4 killing.

The Justice Department will have to officially tell the judge it is pursuing a capital case as the proceedings develop.

It was not immediately clear when Mangione would be arraigned on the indictment.

His attorney asked a judge last week to prohibit the Government from pursuing a capital case, arguing that Bondi’s announcement violated normal practices for how the Justice Department handles such decisions. The lawyer also argued that the publicity from Bondi’s comments tainted the grand jury process.

“The United States Government intends to kill Mr Mangione as a political stunt,” attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo wrote.

Prosecutors responded with a letter saying it was too premature to make such requests because an indictment hadn’t been filed.

Officials have said Mangione, a Baltimore native from a prominent family, appeared to develop an obsession with the health-care industry and how patients in need of care are sometimes neglected.

Thompson, a 50-year-old father of two from Minnesota, was attending a UnitedHealthcare investor conference at the New York Midtown Hilton when a gunman ambushed him on his way into the building about 6.45am.

Police worked for days to determine the whereabouts of the alleged shooter, using the city’s extensive network of surveillance cameras.