New York — Manhattan prosecutors urged the judge on Wednesday to set a trial date in July Luigi Mangione State murder case in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, two months before jury selection begins in his federal death penalty case.
In a letter, Assistant Attorney General Joel Seidman asked Judge Gregory Caro to begin the New York trial on July 1, saying the state’s interests would be “unfairly harmed by unnecessary delay” beyond the federal trial. A state trial date has not yet been set, and the next hearing will not be held until May, when Caro is expected to rule on the defense’s motion to exclude certain evidence.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office raised the scheduling issue days after U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett announced that jury selection in the federal case would begin on Sept. 8, with the rest to take place either in October or January, depending on whether she allows prosecutors to seek the death penalty.
If the death penalty is still on the cards, the second phase of the federal trial — including opening statements and testimony — will begin on Jan. 11, 2027, Garnett said at a hearing last Friday. If not, opening statements will be held on Oct. 13. Capital issues are more complex and require more time to prepare.
In his letter to Caro, Seidman said state prosecutors were involved in the investigation from the beginning while federal prosecutors joined the case about two weeks after Thompson’s death, charging Mangione a day after he was indicted in state court.
“It is then quite natural that the state case would go to trial before the federal case,” the prosecutor wrote, citing legal precedent. He said that the state “has a paramount interest in prosecuting this defendant for the cold-blooded execution of Brian Thompson.”
At the time of Mangione’s arrest, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan said he expected the state’s case to go to trial first.
It’s not just a scheduling issue. Under New York law, the district attorney’s office would be barred from prosecuting Mangione on state murder charges if his federal case goes to trial first. A state’s double jeopardy protections begin if a jury was sworn in in a previous trial, such as a federal case, or if that trial ended in a guilty plea.
Mangione is scheduled to return to court in the federal case on Friday, and Garnett is scheduled to soon rule on a variety of pretrial issues, including whether it will remain a capital case and whether prosecutors will be allowed to show jurors some of the evidence discussed in the state case.
These items include 9mm pistol Which prosecutors say match those used in the killing and a notebook in which they say he described his intention to “bother” a health insurance executive.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to federal and state murder charges. State charges carry the possibility of life imprisonment. He is scheduled to return to court for a conference on the federal case on Friday.
In his letter, Seidman told Caro that the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office was prepared to begin trial and that any outstanding pretrial issues in the state’s case could be resolved before July.
After holding a three-week hearing in December on the defense’s request for evidence, Caro said he would not issue his ruling until May 18, “but that may change.”
Thompson, 50, was killed on Dec. 4, 2024, while en route to a midtown Manhattan hotel to attend UnitedHealth Group’s annual investor conference. Surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting him from behind. Police say the words “delay,” “denial” and “deposit” were written on the ammunition, mimicking a phrase used to describe how insurance companies avoid paying claims.
Mangione, 27, an Ivy League graduate from a wealthy Maryland family, He was arrested five days later At a McDonald’s restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 230 miles (about 370 kilometers) west of Manhattan.
In September, Caro State terrorism charges were dropped But he kept the rest of the case — including the murder charge — in place.
In the federal case, Mangione’s attorneys We want to prevent prosecutors from seeking the death penalty They want at least some of the charges dropped, arguing that the authorities harmed him by turning his arrest into a spectacle and publicly declaring their desire to execute him.
As for the evidence, Mangione’s attorneys contend that the Altoona Police Department illegally searched his bag because they had not yet obtained a warrant. Prosecutors say the search was legal. Prosecutors said the officers were following Altoona police protocols, which require that a suspect’s property be immediately searched for dangerous items, and they later obtained a search warrant.