By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2024-12-14 05:14:04 | Updated at 2024-12-14 07:46:28
2 hours ago
Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, has secured a former veteran Manhattan prosecutor to defend him as he faces murder charges in the Big Apple for the cold-blooded slaying.
Karen Friedman-Agnifilo, a long-time prosecutor who used to lead the sex-crimes unit in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office before turning to the private sector, will represent the accused killer, CNN reported.
“She’s got as much experience as any human being, especially in the state court,” a New York prosecutor told the outlet.
“She knows every corridor, every judge, every clerk in the courthouse.”
Friedman-Agnifilo did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
The news comes just hours after Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced that the alleged gunman could be extradited from Pennsylvania to New York City as early as Tuesday on murder charges for the fatal slaying.
Mangione had been fighting extradition orders that sought to bring him back to the Empire State.
“Indications are that the defendant may waive, but that waiver is not complete until a court proceeding,” Bragg said during a public safety press conference in Times Square Friday night.
“Until that time, we’re going to continue to press forward on parallel paths, and we’ll be ready whether he’s going to waive extradition or contest extradition.”
Mangione — a 26-year-old University of Pennsylvania graduate — is accused of fatally shooting Thompson as the 50-year-old CEO walked to the Hilton hotel on Sixth Avenue, where UnitedHealthcare’s parent company was holding its annual investor conference on Dec. 4.
The alleged assassin led police on a five-day manhunt that ended when he was taken into custody at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s on Monday after an employee recognized him and called the police.
Police recovered a 3D-printed pistol with a homemade silencer, a loaded Glock magazine and multiple fake IDs in his backpack.
He also had a handwritten manifesto-type document that was addressed to “the Feds” that mentioned UnitedHealthcare and accused health insurance companies of corporate greed.
Ballistics from the ghost gun matched the shell casings recovered from the crime scene, with Mangione’s fingerprints matching a water bottle and a granola bar wrapper found near the crime scene, according to police.
Mangione is being held at the State Correctional Institution in Huntington, Pennsylvania, after a judge denied him bail earlier this week.
He has pleaded not guilty to the slew of charges levied against him, including murder and gun possession.
