Two people with knowledge of the case told NBC News on Wednesday that federal prosecutors are considering charging Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the CEO of United Healthcare’s murder.
According to the sources, the New York state murder case against Mangione would take precedence if federal charges were brought.
In the targeted shooting of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, who was shot from behind as he strolled on a Manhattan sidewalk on December 4, Mangione, 26, was indicted on Tuesday on first-degree murder and other charges.
According to New York police, Mangione singled out Thompson, presumably due to the magnitude of the private health insurance business he oversaw. The biggest private health insurer in the US is called United Healthcare.
Along with charges of second-degree murder and other offenses, Mangione was charged with first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism.
A specific circumstance beyond intent is required for a first-degree murder charge in New York, such as the murder of a witness, murder for hire, the death of a police officer, or the assassination of someone in support of terrorism.
One of the lawyers defending Mangione on the New York allegations, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, stated Wednesday evening that they are prepared to fight these charges in any court where they are filed.
“It is extremely unusual and raises serious constitutional and statutory double jeopardy concerns that the federal government would decide to add charges to an already overcharged first-degree murder and state terror case,” she said.
On Tuesday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg stated that Thompson’s ambush death was “intended to cause shock and attention and intimidation.”
At around 6:45 a.m., Mangione, dressed in a mask and a hooded jacket, waited for Thompson to arrive for almost an hour outside a hotel before shooting him from behind with a 9 millimeter handgun fitted with a suppressor, according to Bragg.
Following his identification from security photographs that the FBI and New York police provided, Mangione was taken into custody on December 9 in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
He has resisted being extradited to New York and is currently being imprisoned in Pennsylvania. There will be a hearing on Thursday.
The federal prosecutor’s office in Manhattan, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, did not respond to a request for comment.
The New York Police Department and FBI representatives likewise chose not to comment.
According to Bragg, Mangione could spend up to life in jail without the possibility of release if found guilty of either first-degree murder or second-degree murder as an act of terrorism. According to Bragg, the maximum penalty for a conviction on a standard charge of second-degree murder is 25 years to life in prison.
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