Paperwork error pushes Mangione murder hearing to Wednesday
A New York judge delayed Luigi Mangione’s state murder hearing after prosecutors did not send the jail paperwork needed to bring him to court.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
A New York state court hearing for Luigi Mangione was delayed Tuesday after prosecutors failed to complete the paperwork needed to have him brought from jail, the Associated Press reported. The postponement pushes the next step in the murder case over the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson to Wednesday.
Judge Gregory Carro had set the hearing for Tuesday, according to the AP. About 30 minutes after it was scheduled to begin, Assistant District Attorney Joel Seidemann told the judge that the district attorney’s office had not served the required writ on the jail holding Mangione.
“It’s on us,” Seidemann said in court, according to the AP. Carro responded, “That’s unfortunate.”
Seidemann told the court that U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett, who is overseeing Mangione’s federal case, had sent the jail an order allowing Mangione to wear a suit in court, the AP reported. Seidemann acknowledged that the clothing order did not authorize jail officials to transport Mangione to the state proceeding.
Mangione, 28, is being held in a federal jail in Brooklyn while he awaits trial in separate state and federal cases tied to Thompson’s Dec. 4, 2024, killing, according to the AP. He has pleaded not guilty in both cases, and the AP reported that a conviction in either case could result in a life sentence.
Carro had been expected Tuesday to issue a ruling on an unspecified issue after holding a closed virtual hearing two weeks earlier, according to the AP. The judge said at the time that he sealed that proceeding at the defense’s request, but he did not give further details, the AP reported.
Any ruling from Carro is now expected Wednesday, according to the AP.
Trial dates are approaching
The AP reported that Mangione’s state trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 8. His federal trial, which includes stalking charges, is set for Oct. 13, according to the AP.
Thompson, 50, was shot while walking to a Manhattan hotel for UnitedHealth Group’s annual investor conference, the AP reported. Surveillance video showed a masked shooter firing at Thompson from behind, according to the AP.
Police said the words “delay,” “deny” and “depose” appeared on the ammunition, the AP reported. The phrase echoes language used by critics to describe how insurers avoid paying claims, according to the AP.
Mangione was arrested five days after the shooting at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 230 miles west of Manhattan, the AP reported. The AP described Mangione as an Ivy League graduate from a wealthy Maryland family.
At a hearing last month, Carro ruled that prosecutors may use a gun and notebook as evidence against Mangione, according to the AP. Prosecutors said the gun was a 3D-printed pistol that matches the weapon used to kill Thompson, the AP reported.
Prosecutors also said the notebook described a desire to “wack” a health insurance executive and to rebel against what it called “the deadly, greed fueled health insurance cartel,” according to the AP.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.