NEW YORK – Luigi Mangione was charged Tuesday by the Manhattan district attorney in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Mangione was charged with multiple counts, including one count of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder.
District Attorney Alvin Bragg and New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch hold a press conference at 3:30 p.m. that you can watch in the live player above.
“This type of premeditated, targeted gun violence cannot and will not be tolerated, and my office has been working day in and day out to bring the accused to justice,” Bragg said in an earlier statement. “I want to extend my heartfelt prayers to Mr. Thompson’s loved ones as they continue to grieve.
“This ongoing investigation is the product of incredible collaboration at all levels with the NYPD, and I want to thank Commissioner Tisch and the prosecutors and detectives who worked collaboratively to arrest Mr. Mangione. Now is indicted in New York State Supreme Court on three counts of murder and faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole,” he added.
Bragg’s announcement came as Mangione awaits his next court appearance in Pennsylvania to face charges related to his Dec. 9 arrest.
Mangione’s is now in the process of being extradited to New York. Bragg had said late last week the 26-year-old suspect was considering waiving his extradition after previously fighting it.
Mangione is currently being held at a Pennsylvania state prison on charges related to possession of a weapon and false identification.
That’s what the Manhattan DA’s office alleges
Bragg described the suspect’s movements before and after Thompson’s murder, alleging:
- Mangione arrived at the Port Authority by bus on Nov. 24 and checked into the HI New York City Hostel on the Upper West Side, where he used a fake New Jersey ID under the name Mark Rosario . The suspect extended his stay at the hostel several times.
- On the morning of Dec. 4, Mangione left the hostel at 5:34 a.m. and traveled to Midtown on an electric bicycle. Between 5:52 and 6:45 a.m., he walked near and around the Hilton Hotel. At approximately 6:15 a.m., he purchased a bottle of water and granola bars at the Starbucks at 1290 Sixth Ave.
- At approximately 6:38 a.m. to 6:44 a.m., Mangione stood against a wall on the north side of West 54th Street in front of the Hilton, fully masked with his hood up.
- At 6:45 a.m., Mangione walked across the street to the Hilton Hotel and, armed with a 3D-printed 9mm ghost pistol equipped with a silencer, approached Thompson from behind and shot him once on the back and another on the leg.
- Mangione then fled northeast on 54th Street and took an electric bicycle uptown. He eventually got into a cab and was dropped off at West 178th Street and Amsterdam Avenue and then fled the state.
Arrest of Luigi Mangione in Pennsylvania
Mangione was arrested on December 9 after a customer at a McDonald’s in AltoonaPennsylvania, saw him having breakfast and noticed a resemblance to the person police were looking for in Thompson’s murder in Manhattan five days earlier.
Police said Mangione was found with a gun, mask and writings linking him to the ambush outside the New York Hilton Midtown, where Thompson was arriving for his company’s annual investor conference.
The New York City Police Department told CBS News there is no indication Mangione was one UnitedHealthcare customer
Hours after Mangione’s arrest in Pennsylvania, Bragg’s Manhattan office filed charges charging him with five counts, including first degree murder, criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a forged instrument.
The suspect adds a high-powered lawyer to the defense
Mangione added prominent defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo to his legal team. Agnifilo was a high-ranking deputy in the Manhattan DA’s office for years before entering private practice. Friedman Agnifilo’s law firm, Agnifilo Intrater LLP, confirmed in a statement to CBS News on Saturday that it had been hired to represent Mangione.
The firm said Agnifilo, a longtime veteran of the Manhattan DA’s office, was second in command for seven years under U.S. Attorney Cyrus Vance, as well as serving four years as chief of the trial division of the office.