BURSTLuigi Mangione, the man accused of shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, appeared Thursday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, where his lawyer questioned conflicting federal charges she described as “highly unusual.”
“Is there one case? Two cases? Two investigations? Is it a joint investigation?” Karen Friedman Agnifilo asked U.S. Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker.
“There are a lot of factors here that I think are very confusing, highly unusual,” she added.
The high-profile lawyer, who spent more than 20 years working in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, said the lack of clarity blurs the lines on discovery obligations, which could allow for access to evidence in preparation for Mangione’s trial.
Investigators told reporters they’ve linked Mangione to the shooting through DNA evidence found at the crime scene.
Mangione's Pennsylvania attorney, Thomas Dickey, has also cited concerns with not seeing any evidence and said he would challenge the forensic results’ admissibility and accuracy.
“In over three decades of prosecuting and defending criminal cases in New York, frankly, I've never seen anything like that what is happening here, and so any clarity that the government can give Mr. Mangione, we'd really appreciate it,” Friedman Agnifilo stated.
Court documents unsealed Thursday revealed Mangione was facing four new federal charges in addition to state charges in New York and Pennsylvania.
The new charges, including murder through the use of a firearm, potentially carry the death penalty if he is found guilty.
Friedman Agnifilo said a Wednesday press conference from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office led her to believe Mangione would not be charged federally but subject to a New York murder as an act of terrorism law that could account for a harsher sentence.
“I don't think they [Manhattan District Attorney's Office] even knew that this was going to happen,” Mangione’s attorney said in earlier comments in the courtroom.
Despite Friedman Agnifilio’s pushback, U.S. Attorney Edward Y. Kim said hefty charges were warranted in light of Mangione’s actions.
“Brian Thompson was gunned down in cold blood as he walked down a street in midtown Manhattan. Thompson was allegedly killed just because he held the position of chief executive officer of a health insurance company,” Kim said in a Thursday statement.
“As alleged, Luigi Mangione traveled to New York to stalk and shoot Thompson in broad daylight in front of a Manhattan hotel, all in a grossly misguided attempt to broadcast Mangione’s views across the country,” he added.
Kim said amid the heinous nature of the crime, his office would remain “steadfast” in their efforts to enact justice.
“But this wasn’t a debate, it was murder, and Mangione now faces federal charges. This Office and its law enforcement partners remain steadfast in our commitment to fight violence in whatever form it takes.”