Luigi Mangione, 26, a suspect in the New York City killing of UnitedHealth executive Brian Thompson, is escorted after an extradition hearing at Blair County Court House in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 10, 2024.
Eduardo Munoz | Reuters
A New York grand jury indicted Luigi Mangione on charges of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office said Tuesday.
Mangione, 26, is charged with one count of first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism and two counts of second-degree murder, one of which is charged as killing as an act of terrorism.
He is also charged in the Manhattan Supreme Court indictment with multiple counts of criminal possession of a weapon, a single count of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree and possession of a forged New Jersey driver’s license.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is expected to file paperwork seeking Mangione’s extradition from Pennsylvania, where he has been held since he was arrested last week at a McDonald’s.
A source familiar with the situation told NBC News on Tuesday that Mangione plans to waive extradition, which would allow him to be transported to New York within days.
Mangione, a double University of Pennsylvania graduate who comes from a prominent Baltimore-area family, faces a maximum possible sentence of life in prison without parole if convicted.
He is accused of fatally shooting Thompson with a 9 mm handgun equipped with a silencer on Dec. 4 outside the Hilton hotel in midtown Manhattan.
Thompson, 50, was headed into the hotel for an investor day event for his company’s parent, UnitedHealth Group.
Read the full indictment.
“This was a killing to evoke terror,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said at a news conference to announce the 11-count indictment. “This was not an ordinary killing … this was extraordinary.”
Bragg called the slaying “brazen” and “targeted.”
The DA said Mangione arrived in New York City on a bus at the Port Authority terminal on Nov. 24 with the intent of murdering Thompson and spent the following days staying at a hostel on the Upper West Side using the name “Mark Rosario” with a fake ID.
Mangione left that hostel at just after 5:30 a.m. on Dec. 4 and traveled to midtown, where he waited for Thompson to appear outside the Hilton for about six minutes before crossing the street, pulling out a handgun and firing, hitting the CEO once in the back and once in the leg, Bragg said.
Mangione then fled on an e-bike and later a taxi that took him to Washington Heights in upper Manhattan.
He also said “we have indications” that Mangione will waive his right to an extradition hearing on Thursday in Pennsylvania, and consent to be sent to New York to face the murder case.
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson (L) and Luigi Mangione (R).