Murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO: Suspect Luigi Mangione appears in New York court for the first time on federal charges of murder and stalking

NEW YORK (WABC)– Luigi Mangione traveled from Georgia to hunt down and kill UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and said he targeted the health care industry because “he checked all the boxes” – one of several entries in a notebook in which the suspect discussed the plot over the weeks. before the brazen crime, according to a federal criminal complaint.

Mangione was hit with four federal charges Thursday, including stalking, a firearm offense involving a silencer and murder by use of a firearm, a charge that makes him eligible for the death penalty.

A special edition of “20/20” airing Dec. 19 at 10 p.m. ET on ABC looks at the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and the manhunt that led to Luigi’s arrest Mangione, who went from Ivy League to suspected killer.

The federal complaint contains previously unpublished excerpts from the notebook that police said they seized from Mangione. Authorities said the writings “express hostility toward the health insurance industry and wealthy executives in particular.”

According to the complaint, an entry dated August 15, 2024 said “the details are finally falling into place” and “I’m glad – in a way – that I procrastinated, because (because) it allowed me to learn more about (Company-1 acronym).”

The entry also stated that “the target is insurance” because “it checks every box,” the complaint states. In an article dated October 22, 2024, the writings stated: “1.5 months. This investor conference is a real godsend…and – more importantly – the message becomes clear.

Later in the article, the pages describe an intention to “wax” the CEO of one of the insurance companies at its investor conference, the complaint states.

Mangione made his first appearance in Manhattan federal court Thursday afternoon, hours after the criminal complaint was unsealed. Mangione entered a packed federal courtroom to appear before Magistrate Judge Katharine Parker.

He answered “yes” to several questions from Judge Parker, but mostly kept his head down as she summarized the accusations in the complaint. He did not plead.

Defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo said Mangione would not initially challenge his pretrial detention. He was taken into custody

The next court date is January 18, 2025, unless an indictment is first obtained.

The prosecutor noted that the Manhattan district attorney’s office had a parallel case.

“This matter is ongoing and our office is in consultation with them,” Gentile said.

Agnifilo said Mangione was prepared to appear in state court and complained about the federal charges against her client.

“This is a very unusual situation that we find ourselves in,” Agnifilo said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

She said the theories in the two cases appear to conflict, noting that the state case accused Mangione of terrorizing a group of people while the federal case accused him of stalking an individual.

Mangione agreed to return to New York after an early morning appearance in court in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested last week after five days on the run.

“It’s in his best interest and we’re moving forward,” said Thomas Dickey, Mangione’s Pennsylvania attorney.

After his hearing in Pennsylvania court, Mangione was immediately handed over to at least a dozen New York City police officers who were in the courtroom and taken to a plane bound for Long Island. He was then flown to a Manhattan heliport, where officers armed with assault rifles walked him slowly to a pier.

The 26-year-old Ivy League graduate is accused of ambushing and shooting Brian Thompson on Dec. 4 outside a Manhattan hotel as the head of the states’ largest medical insurance company -Unis was going to an investors conference.

Authorities said Mangione was carrying the gun used to kill Thompson, a passport, fake IDs and about $10,000 when he was arrested while eating breakfast Dec. 9 at a McDonald’s from Altoona, Pennsylvania.

When Mangione was apprehended, he had a 9mm handgun with a 3D-printed receiver, a homemade silencer, two ammunition magazines and live rounds, prosecutors said.

Mangione, who initially fought extradition attempts, appeared in court twice briefly on Thursday, first waiving a preliminary hearing on counterfeiting and firearms charges before agreeing to be sent back to New York.

His next hearing in Pennsylvania is scheduled for February 24 – which could potentially result in an extension or a remote appearance over Zoom, given the inability to return for an in-person hearing once he is in custody in New York.

Earlier, the line of reporters and spectators outside the Blair County Courthouse, where Mangione’s hearing was held, snaked around the block before the building’s doors opened Thursday morning.

Several people quietly held homemade signs. One echoed the words written on bullets found at the Midtown scene where UnitedHealthare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot: “Deny, Defend, Depose.”

Adam Giesseman held a “Free Luigi” sign that also said “Murder for profit is terrorism” and told ABC News he drove to Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. from Ohio last night for this occasion.

“Our country is broken,” he said. However, he does not intend to disrupt the debates with his message, he added.

RELATED | Supporters of alleged killer of CEO Luigi Mangione create defense fund

Another waiting spectator, Natalie, who only gave her first name and wore a medical mask, expressed frustration with the insurance system “set up for profit rather than for people’s health.”

“It’s unfortunate that this happened, and I’m not glorifying it in any way, but it has brought attention to an issue that affects all Americans,” she said.

A special edition of “20/20” airing Dec. 19 at 10 p.m. ET on ABC looks at the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and the manhunt that led to Luigi’s arrest Mangione, who went from Ivy League to suspected killer.

RELATED | Timeline of UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting

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Information from ABC News and Associated Press

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