- By Sahelee Rakshit
- Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:17 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
UnitedHealthcare CEO Death: Luigi Mangione, the suspect accused of fatally gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a crowded Midtown Manhattan sidewalk, filed a 'not guilty' plea to state murder and terror charges on Monday after being brought into a New York courtroom.
It was Mangione's first chance to formally respond to the charges made by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office during the hearing.
The indictment charges the 26-year-old with 11 counts in New York, including two counts of second-degree murder and one act of first-degree murder, in addition to other allegations including weapons and forgery.
The office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg told CNN that it is working with federal officials to arrange for Mangione to be arraigned on the state charges.
Prosecutors promised to share the information with the defense and take all reasonable steps to speed up the discovery process.
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“I have never seen a case with such volume of evidence, aside from the issue of the quality of the evidence,” prosecutor Joel Seidemann said during the hearing. “This is not a usual case in terms of the thousands of hours of video.”
Karen Friedman Agnifilo, Mangione's lawyer, raised concerns during the hearing regarding her client's right to a fair trial, pointing out that Mayor Eric Adams was one of the dozens of heavily armed law enforcement officers present when he was extradited from Pennsylvania to Lower Manhattan last week.
Judge Gregory Carro assured Agnifilo that her client's trial will be fair, adding, "We will carefully select a jury." The next court date has been scheduled for February 21.