DA seeks July trial in Luigi Mangione’s state murder case, with his federal trial slated for fall

NEW YORK (AP) — Manhattan prosecutors urged a judge on Wednesday to set a July trial date in Luigi Mangione ’s state murder case in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, two months before jury selection in his federal death penalty case.

In a letter, Assistant District Attorney Joel Seidemann asked Judge Gregory Carro to begin the New York trial on July 1, arguing that the state’s interests “would be unfairly prejudiced by an unnecessary delay” until after the federal trial.

The state trial hasn’t been scheduled and the next hearing isn’t until May, when Carro is expected to rule on a defense request to exclude certain evidence that prosecutors say connects Mangione to the killing.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office raised the scheduling issue days after U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett scheduled jury selection in the federal case for Sept. 8, with the rest of the trial happening in October or January, depending on whether she allows prosecutors to seek the death penalty.

If the death penalty is still in play, the second phase of the federal trial — including opening statements and testimony — will begin Jan. 11, 2027, Garnett said in court last Friday. If it’s not, it will start Oct. 13.

Mangione’s lawyer, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, called the district attorney’s request for a July state trial “unrealistic.” The defense will need the rest of the year to prepare for the federal trial, she said.

Federal prosecutors declined to comment.

In his letter to Carro, Seidemann argued that state prosecutors were involved in the investigation from the start while federal prosecutors joined the case about two weeks after Thompson’s death, jumping in to charge Mangione a day after he was indicted in state court.

“It is entirely natural then that the state case would proceed to trial prior to the federal case,” the prosecutor wrote, citing legal precedent. The state, he said, “has an overriding interest in trying this defendant for the cold-blooded execution of Brian Thompson.”

At the time of Mangione’s arrest, Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor said he anticipated the state case would go to trial first.

It isn’t just a matter of scheduling. Under New York law, the district attorney’s office could be barred from trying Mangione on state murder charges if his federal trial happens first. The state’s double jeopardy protections kick in if a jury has been sworn in a prior prosecution, such as a federal case, or if that prosecution ends in a guilty plea.

Mangione is due back in court on Friday in the federal case, with Garnett set to rule soon on issues including whether it remains a capital case and whether prosecutors can show jurors some of the evidence debated in the state case.

Those items include a 9 mm handgun that prosecutors say matches the one used to kill Thompson and a notebook in which they say he described his intent to “wack” a health insurance executive.

Mangione has pleaded not guilty to federal and state murder charges; the state charges carry the possibility of life in prison. He is due back in court for a conference in the federal case on Friday.

In his letter, Seidemann told Carro that the district attorney’s office is ready for trial. Any outstanding pretrial issues can be resolved before July, he said.

After holding a three-week hearing in December on the defense’s evidence request, Carro said he wouldn’t rule until May 18, “but that could change.”

Thompson, 50, was killed on Dec. 4, 2024, as he walked to a midtown Manhattan hotel for UnitedHealth Group’s annual investor conference. Surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting him from behind. Police say “delay,” “deny” and “depose” were written on the ammunition, mimicking a phrase used to describe how insurers avoid paying claims.

Mangione, a 27-year-old Ivy League graduate from a wealthy Maryland family, was arrested five days later at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 230 miles (about 370 kilometers) west of Manhattan.

In September, Carro threw out state terrorism charges but kept the rest of the case, including an intentional murder charge.

In the federal case, Mangione’s lawyers want prosecutors barred from seeking the death penalty, arguing that authorities prejudiced him by turning his arrest into a spectacle and by publicly declaring their desire to see him executed.

As for the evidence, Mangione’s lawyers contend Altoona police illegally searched his backpack because they had not yet obtained a warrant. Prosecutors say the search was legal. Officers were following protocols, which require promptly searching a suspect’s property for dangerous items, and later obtained a warrant, prosecutors said.