Luigi Mangione's lawyers on Saturday asked a New York federal judge to dismiss him. some criminal charges, including a single count for which he could face the death penalty, according to a federal indictment filed against him last December. murder of UnitedHealthcare chief executive.
In the documents filed in Manhattan federal court, The lawyers said prosecutors should also be barred from using his statements to law enforcement officers and his backpack, which contained guns and ammunition, at trial.
They said Mangione was not read his rights before he was questioned by law enforcement officers who arrested him after Brian Thompson was fatally shot when he arrived at a Manhattan hotel for an investor conference.
They added that officers did not obtain a search warrant for Mangione's backpack.
Mangione, 27, has pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges in the Dec. 4 fatal shooting of Brian Thompson as he arrived at a Manhattan hotel for his company's annual investor conference.
The killing prompted a multi-state manhunt after the alleged shooter fled the scene and rode his bike to Central Park and then took a taxi to a bus depot that serves several nearby states.
Five days later, a tip from a McDonald's about 233 miles away. in Altoona, Pennsylvania forced the police to arrest Mangione.
He has been held without bail since then.
Last month, Mangione's lawyers asked that federal charges against him be dropped and his death penalty considerations dropped as a result of public comments from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.
In April, Bondi directed New York prosecutors to seek the death penalty, calling Thompson's killing “a premeditated, cold-blooded murder that shocked America.”
Murder cases are typically tried in state courts, but prosecutors have also charged Mangione under the federal gun homicide statute as part of other “crimes of violence.”
This is the only charge for which Mangione could face the death penalty, as it does not apply in New York State.
The papers, filed early Saturday morning, argued that the charge should be dropped because prosecutors failed to identify other offenses that would be required to convict him, saying the other alleged crime – stalking – was not a crime of violence.
The murder and its aftermath captured the American imagination, causing waves cascade of grievances and online vitriol against U.S. health insurers, while confounding company executives concerned about safety.
After the murder, investigators found the words “detain,” “deny,” and “remove” written in permanent marker on ammunition at the scene.
These words mimic a phrase used by critics of the insurance industry.
