11/12/2024
11/12/2024
ALTOONA, Pa, Dec 11, (AP): The man charged with murder in the killing of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare made it clear he wasn’t going to make things easy on authorities, shouting unintelligibly and writhing in the grip of sheriff’s deputies as he was led into court and then objecting to being brought to New York to face trial.
The displays of resistance Tuesday weren’t expected to significantly delay legal proceedings for Luigi Nicholas Mangione, who was charged in last week’s Manhattan killing of Brian Thompson, the leader of the United States’ largest medical insurance company. Little new information has come out about possible motivation, though writings found in Mangione's possession hinted at a vague hatred of corporate greed.
In his first public words since he was arrested at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania after a five-day search, the 26-year-old Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family emerged from a patrol car shouting about an "insult to the intelligence of the American people” while deputies pushed him inside a courthouse.
A law enforcement bulletin obtained by The Associated Press said that at the time of his arrest, Mangione was carrying a handwritten document expressing anger with what he called "parasitic” health insurance companies and a disdain for corporate greed and power. He wrote that the U.S. has the most expensive health care system in the world and that profits of major corporations continue to rise while "our life expectancy” does not, according to the bulletin.
Mangione remained jailed in Pennsylvania, where he was initially charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm, forgery and providing false identification to police. Manhattan prosecutors were beginning to take steps to bring Mangione to New York, but at a brief hearing Tuesday, defense lawyer Thomas Dickey said his client will not waive extradition and instead wants a hearing on the issue.
Mangione was denied bail after prosecutors said he was too dangerous to be released. He mostly stared straight ahead at the hearing, occasionally looking at papers, rocking in his chair or looking back at the gallery. "You can’t rush to judgment in this case or any case,” Dickey said afterward. "He’s presumed innocent. Let’s not forget that.” Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 230 miles (about 370 kilometers) west of New York City, after a McDonald’s customer recognized him and notified an employee, authorities said.