Luigi Mangione to appear in state court ahead of September trial
Accused CEO killer Luigi Mangione is set to return to court on Tuesday for the last scheduled pre-trial conference before jury selection begins next month in his state murder case.
Tuesday's appearance could be the last time Mangione is seen in public before jury selection starts on Sept. 8, and the conference is one of the final opportunities for prosecutors and defense attorneys to finalize details of the high-profile trial.
Prosecutors allege that Mangione gunned down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, who was married with two children, in an assassination-style killing on a midtown Manhattan street in December 2024. He has pleaded not guilty in separate state and federal cases, and faces the possibility of life in prison if he's convicted in his state murder case.
In the two months since Mangione last appeared in state court, his defense lawyers abruptly withdrew plans to argue he was experiencing an "extreme emotional disturbance" as he allegedly killed Thompson. The rare psychiatric defense would have involved Mangione's lawyers arguing he experienced a "profound loss of self-control" at the time of the alleged murder and that he should be convicted of the lesser crime of manslaughter, which carries a 25-year maximum sentence.
Mangione's lawyers withdrew their notice about the planned defense after the judge said his lawyers would have to turn over Mangione's psychiatric records if they chose that route.
Mangione's lawyers and federal prosecutors in Manhattan also discussed a possible guilty plea in his federal case in June, sources previously told ABC News. The sources said it was not clear how close the two sides came to an agreement before the negotiations stopped, and Mangione's federal trial is scheduled to begin on Jan. 5.
Prosecutors with the Manhattan district attorney's office have said they would push for a stiffer sentence in his state murder case if Mangione were to plead out of the federal case.
"Any guilty pleas in these matters must account for the seriousness of defendant's offenses, the loss of an innocent life, the impact of those crimes on the victim's family, and the other state interests that are implicated, including the sanctity of life principle that underpins the state homicide charges," prosecutor Joel Seidermann wrote in July.
New York Judge Gregory Carro has not publicly addressed either development since Mangione last appeared in court. He has also not disclosed his plan for jury selection.
Ahead of the conference, defense lawyers have also requested that Judge Carro address the arrangement for the media access for the trial, including whether the proceedings could be broadcast live.
