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Suspect in New York CEO shooting pleads not guilty to murder as ‘terrorist’ act
Luigi Mangione , suspected of shooting dead the chief executive of a major health insurance company in New York , pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges he faces in state court, including that of murder as a “terrorist” act .
“Not guilty,” the 26-year-old man told the court, entering the Manhattan courtroom in handcuffs and escorted by several police officers, wearing a white shirt and a burgundy sweater, an AFP correspondent noted.
Mangione is accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a Manhattan street on Dec. 4 and faces both federal and New York state charges.
He had already appeared before the federal court last week.
Mangione was arrested in Pennsylvania on December 9 after a police search for several days and was immediately transferred to New York to face justice.
Thompson’s killing exposed deep popular frustration in the United States with the for-profit health care system . Many social media users hailed Mangione as a hero and sharply criticized health insurance companies.
If convicted in state court, he could face life in prison without parole. But on the federal charges, he could technically be sentenced to death .
Karen Friedman Agnifilo, Mangione’s attorney, asked for clarification on how the two courts’ indictments would operate simultaneously, calling the situation “highly unusual.”
According to the Justice Department, Mangione traveled to New York City from Atlanta by bus about 10 days before the crime.
He checked into a Manhattan hostel using a fake ID and is believed to have later scouted the area around the hotel where Thompson was staying and the location of a conference the top executive was attending.
On the morning of Dec. 4, Mangione is believed to have followed Thompson, approached him from behind and shot him multiple times with a silencer, according to the Justice Department . He then fled the scene on a bicycle.
