Mangione lawyers abandon psychiatric defense in killing of health CEO

In a surprising reversal, Luigi Mangione's attorneys said on Thursday they would drop a planned psychiatric defense for his upcoming state trial in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Just a day earlier, the defense had informed Judge Gregory Carro that they intended to argue Mangione was suffering an "extreme emotional disturbance" at the time of the December 4, 2024, killing.

Judge Carro had given the defense a Thursday deadline to provide prosecutors with evidence supporting the emotional disturbance claim. "They need to know the malady and how that triggered emotional disturbance," Carro said during a Wednesday hearing.

In a letter to Carro on Thursday, Mangione's lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo stated that the defense "respectfully withdraws" its notice under New York's psychiatric defense statute.

Mangione has pleaded not guilty to both state and federal charges. His state trial is scheduled to begin September 8, while his federal trial, which includes stalking charges, is set for October 13.

If Mangione had pursued the extreme emotional disturbance defense, he would have effectively admitted to killing Thompson but argued mitigating circumstances. It would not have absolved him of responsibility but could have reduced the sentence. A jury accepting the defense would convict him of manslaughter, punishable by up to 25 years, rather than murder, which carries a potential life sentence.

Mangione's lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Manhattan district attorney's office, prosecuting the state case, declined to comment.

Also on Thursday, the transcript of a closed hearing on June 3 was made public after Carro ordered it unsealed. At Wednesday's hearing, Friedman Agnifilo had objected to unsealing, arguing it would prejudice Mangione's defense in the federal case, where an emotional disturbance defense is not allowed.

It should be noted that an emotional disturbance defense differs from an insanity plea, which would send a defendant to a psychiatric facility instead of prison.

Thompson, 50, was killed while walking to a Manhattan hotel for UnitedHealth Group's annual investor conference. Surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting him from behind. Police reported that the words "delay," "deny," and "depose" were written on the ammunition, mimicking a phrase used to describe how insurers avoid paying claims.

Mangione, an Ivy League graduate from a wealthy Maryland family, was arrested five days later at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 230 miles west of Manhattan.

At a previous hearing, Carro ruled that a gun and notebook allegedly linking Mangione to the killing can be used as evidence. The gun, a 3D-printed pistol, matches the weapon used to kill Thompson. The notebook reportedly expresses a desire to "wack" a health insurance executive and to rebel against "the deadly, greed fueled health insurance cartel."

The Associated Press contributed reporting.