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U.S. Files Murder Charge Against Mangione That Could Bring Death Penalty
Federal authorities filed a total of four counts against Luigi Mangione, who is accused of killing Brian Thompson, the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare.
Federal prosecutors on Thursday unsealed a murder case against the suspect in the shooting of UnitedHealthcare’s chief executive, holding out the possibility of the death penalty even after a trial on separate state charges.
The federal criminal complaint against the suspect, Luigi Mangione, 26, includes one count of using a firearm to commit murder, which carries a maximum potential sentence of death, along with two stalking counts and a firearms offense.
It came two days after the Manhattan district attorney filed state murder and terror charges against Mr. Mangione in the killing of the executive, Brian Thompson. Mr. Thompson, 50, was gunned down on a Manhattan sidewalk this month.
The highest penalty Mr. Mangione could face if convicted in state court would be life in prison without parole.
Mr. Mangione was brought back to the city on Thursday after an extradition hearing in Pennsylvania, shackled and escorted by a phalanx of law enforcement officers. Mayor Eric Adams and top police officials joined the dramatic tableau.
The federal complaint, which is dated Wednesday, accuses Mr. Mangione of traveling across state lines — from Atlanta to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York, where he arrived shortly after 10 p.m. on Nov. 24 — to stalk and ultimately kill Mr. Thompson, which would give the federal government jurisdiction to prosecute him.
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