Luigi Mangione, the accused killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, is almost certain to waive extradition from Pennsylvania, where he was arrested a week ago, sources told ABC News.
He could waive extradition to New York as early as Tuesday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Friday.
Mangione remains in custody at a Pennsylvania state prison.
Luigi Mangione is led into the Blair County Courthouse for an extradition hearing Dec. 10, 2024, in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. Jeff Swensen/Getty Images
Mangione was apprehended at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 9 after nearly one week on the run. He's accused of gunning down Thompson outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel on Dec. 4 as the CEO headed to an investors conference.
"Just a cold-blooded, horrible killing," President-elect Donald Trump said at a news conference Monday.
A New York police officer stands outside the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan where Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was fatally shot, Dec. 4, 2024, in New York. Stefan Jeremiah/AP
Thompson's murder ignited online anger at the health insurance industry. Many people online have celebrated the suspect and some have donated to a defense fund for Mangione.
"It's really terrible that some people seem to admire him, like him," Trump said.
"It seems that there's a certain appetite for him. I don’t get it," Trump added.
Luigi Mangione, a suspect in the New York City killing of UnitedHealth executive Brian Thompson departs after an extradition hearing at Blair County Court House in Hollidaysburg, Pa, Dec. 10, 2024. Jeff Swensen/Getty Images
Sources said writings police seized from Mangione suggest he was fixated on UnitedHealthcare for months and gradually developed a plan to kill the CEO.
Among the writings recovered from Mangione was a passage that allegedly said, "What do you do? You whack the CEO at the annual parasitic bean-counter convention," according to law enforcement officials.
Neither Mangione nor his parents received insurance through UnitedHealthcare, the company said.
Police place bullet casing markers outside of a Hilton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan where United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot on Dec. 4, 2024 in New York City. Spencer Platt/Getty Images
In Pennsylvania, Mangione faces charges including allegedly possessing an untraceable ghost gun. In New York, he faces charges including second-degree murder.
Mangione has hired Karen Friedman Agnifilo, a former member of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, as his lawyer in New York.
FBI agents and NYPD detectives spoke to Mangione's mother the day before his Dec. 9 arrest after San Francisco police informed them she had filed a missing persons report and Mangione's photo seemed to match the suspect photo, law enforcement sources told ABC News. Mangione's mother told the New York investigators that the person in the widely shared surveillance images could be her 26-year-old son, sources said.
Chi-Guy86 on December 16th, 2024 at 15:49 UTC »
A CNN host was complaining that there wasn’t a memorial to Brian Thompson at the site of the shooting. Corporate media is getting super desperate in their attempts to sway public opinion on this.
TwistedPox on December 16th, 2024 at 14:47 UTC »
I’ll believe it when it comes out of Thomas Dickey’s mouth
fork_yuu on December 16th, 2024 at 14:44 UTC »
Didn't NYPD come out saying Luigi wasn't even on their radar? Lol
Edit: So many comments that NYPD don't need to share info. I'm talking about the info they literally shared after his arrest.
https://www.fox5ny.com/news/ceo-suspected-killer-extradition-nyc
https://abc7news.com/post/fbi-sfpd-luigi-mangione-suspect-unitedhealthcare-ceo-murder-brian-thompson/15652862/