Luigi Mangione pleads not guilty to state murder, other charges in UnitedHealthcare CEO's death

Accused UnitedHealthcare CEO killer Luigi Mangione pleaded not guilty to state murder charges Monday in Manhattan Supreme Court for allegedly gunning down executive Brian Thompson outside a midtown hotel. 

Mangione, a 26-year-old computer scientist and Ivy League graduate, already faces federal murder and stalking charges in connection with the fatal shooting of Thompson on Dec. 4. The state and federal cases will be tried at the same time.

A Manhattan grand jury indicted Mangione last week on first- and second-degree murder charges as a "crime of terrorism," as well as on weapons and other charges.

The scion of a prominent Maryland family was led into the courtroom Monday in handcuffs and shackles, wearing a maroon sweater, button-down shirt and khaki pants.

"Not guilty," Mangione responded when asked by Acting State Supreme Court Justice Gregory Carro to enter his plea.

Federal and state prosecutors allege that Mangione plotted to kill Thompson, printed a 3D handgun with a silencer and lay in wait for him outside the Hilton Hotel on Sixth Avenue.

Mangione took a bus from Atlanta on Nov. 24, checked into an Upper West Side hostel and began casing the West 54th Street hotel where the health insurance company was holding an investor meeting, according to prosecutors.

About 6:45 a.m. on Dec. 4, Mangione allegedly intercepted Thompson outside the hotel and shot him twice, once in the back and once in the leg. A third bullet misfired, the NYPD said.

Online statements that the suspect allegedly made show a deep discontent with the health insurance industry.

On the shell casings, police found the words "Deny" and "Depose," with the word "Delay" printed on the misfired bullet. The words are similar to a tell-all book about health insurance tactics titled "Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don't Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It."

Mangione fled on a Citi Bike and avoided capture for five days until his arrest Dec. 9 after a McDonald’s worker in Altoona, Pennsylvania, recognized him and called the police, prosecutors said.

Investigators found a 3D-printed handgun and silencer along with a manifesto in which Mangione appeared to take credit for the killing, according to his federal criminal complaint. He was also allegedly carrying a fake New Jersey driver’s license.

Last Thursday, Manhattan federal prosecutors unsealed murder charges, two stalking counts and a firearms offense. Although they have not said they would do so, the U.S. attorney’s office could seek the death penalty.

Mangione’s lawyer, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, took issue Monday with the way her client had been treated by state and federal prosecutors, saying that it jeopardized his right to a fair trial.

"He’s a young man and he’s being treated like a human pingpong ball between two warring jurisdictions," Friedman Agnifilo told the court.

During Mangione’s extradition from Pennsylvania to Manhattan, he was met on a helipad in the Financial District by a large reception of law enforcement and Mayor Eric Adams.

"What was the New York City mayor doing there," Friedman Agnifilo said. "That was utterly irresponsible."

Statements by the mayor about her client and his presence at the helipad have the potential to taint the jury pool, Friedman Agnifilo added, referencing Adams' comments linking Mangione to the crime.

Carro said he had no jurisdiction over what is said outside his courtroom.

The mayor's press secretary defended his actions and comments.

"Critics can say all they want, but showing up to support our law enforcement and sending the message to New Yorkers that violence and vitriol have no place in our city is who Mayor Eric Adams is to his core," Kayla Mamelak Altus said.

Regardless of the pretrial publicity or statements from the mayor, Friedman Agnifilo said her client would go to trial.

"We’re going to fight these charges whether they be in state or federal court," she said.

Friedman Agnifilo also requested that the evidence against her client be turned over by the prosecutors immediately, but Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Joel Seidemann responded that prosecutors would have to do it on a rolling basis.

"I have never seen a case with such a volume of evidence," Seidemann said, "as well as the quality of the evidence."

Although the state case is expected to proceed before the federal charges, Mangione is being held in the federal jail in Brooklyn.

Carro asked prosecutors to work with federal authorities to get him to state court appearances.

Mangione's next appearance in Manhattan Supreme Court is scheduled for Feb. 21.