Prosecutors at the Manhattan district attorney's office began presenting evidence to the grand jury on Thursday as they seek an indictment against Luigi Mangione for the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Thompson, a 50-year-old father of two, was shot and killed just prior to 7 a.m. local time last Wednesday outside of the New York Hilton Midtown. Mangione faces one count of second-degree murder, two of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, one count of second-degree possession of a forged document, and one of third-degree criminal possession of a firearm, according to court documents.
Mangione currently remains in custody at a Pennsylvania state prison after his bail was denied by a judge. Mangione has been fighting extradition to New York and has challenged the interstate transfer. He was apprehended on Monday in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
Mangione's attorney, Thomas Dickey, entered a plea of not guilty on Wednesday and said that he has not "seen any evidence" that his client is the killer. Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg said we would not discuss the case in detail but was confident in the city's case. "This is obviously a profound, profoundly disturbing, as we've alleged, murder," Bragg said. "We would not charge the person if we didn't think it was the person, and we're prepared to go forward."
Fingerprints recovered from a water bottle and a Kind bar near the crime scene have been matched to Mangione, according to police, and authorities also say they have linked bullet shells to a 3D printed ghost gun Mangione had on his possession when he was arrested.
Shell casings were found at the crime scene with the words "delay, deny, defend" etched in the casing. The words mimic the way some attorneys describe how insurers deny services and payment and is the title of a 2010 book by Jay Feinman, a professor emeritus at Rutgers Law School that is highly critical of the industry.
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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