Suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing faces new federal murder charges with his return to New York

NEW YORK (AP) — The suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO was whisked back to New York on a plane and by helicopter Thursday to face new federal charges of stalking and murder, which could bring the death penalty if he’s convicted.

Luigi Mangione agreed to return to New York after a morning court appearance in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested last week five days after the shooting of Brian Thompson. Mangione appeared in a Manhattan federal court for an afternoon hearing where a magistrate ordered he be detained.

After his Pennsylvania court hearing, Mangione was immediately turned over to at least a dozen New York Police Department officers who were in the courtroom and led him to a plane bound for Long Island. He then was flown to a Manhattan heliport, where he was walked slowly up a pier by a throng of officers with assault rifles.

The federal complaint unsealed Thursday charges him with two counts of stalking and one count each of murder through use of a firearm and a firearms offense. Murder by firearm carries the possibility of the death penalty, though federal prosecutors have not said whether they will pursue that punishment.

In a New York state indictment filed earlier this week, Mangione was charged with murder as an act of terrorism, which carries a possible sentence of life in prison without parole. New York does not have the death penalty.

In federal court Thursday, Mangione shifted his head but otherwise did not react when the magistrate read the part of the complaint accusing him of killing Thompson.

His attorney said dealing with both the state and federal cases puts the defense in a highly unusual situation. “Frankly I’ve never seen anything like what is happening here,” said Karen Friedman Agnifilo.

The 26-year-old Ivy League graduate is accused of ambushing and shooting Thompson on Dec. 4 outside a Manhattan hotel where the head of the United States’ largest medical insurance company was walking to an investor conference.

Authorities have said Mangione was carrying the gun used to kill Thompson, a passport, fake IDs and about $10,000 when he was arrested while eating breakfast on Dec. 9 at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania.