By Luc Cohen
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Luigi Mangione, the person accused of taking pictures useless UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:) government Brian Thompson on a Manhattan avenue this month, was indicted for homicide on Tuesday, New York prosecutors mentioned.
Mangione was indicted on 11 counts, together with first-degree homicide and homicide as against the law of terrorism.
The indictment accused Mangione of murdering Thompson with the intent to “influence the policy of a unit of government by intimidation or coercion.”
“This was a frightening, well-planned, targeted murder that was intended to cause shock and attention and intimidation,” Bragg instructed reporters.
Mangione’s protection lawyer in New York, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, declined to remark.
Ivy League-educated Mangione was charged with homicide on Dec. 9 for the killing of Thompson exterior a Manhattan lodge earlier than an organization convention, following a five-day manhunt.
Mangione is at the moment being held on gun costs in Pennsylvania, the place he was arrested final week. Bragg mentioned he had indications that Mangione might waive his proper to contest his extradition to New York. A listening to over Mangione’s extradition is scheduled for Thursday in Pennsylvania.
Mangione suffered from continual again ache that affected his every day life, in line with mates and social media posts, although it’s unclear whether or not his private well being performed a task within the taking pictures.
UnitedHealth Group mentioned final week Mangione was not a buyer of the well being insurer.
The phrases “deny,” “defend” and “depose” have been carved into shell casings discovered on the Thompson homicide scene, a number of information retailers reported, evoking the title of a guide crucial of the insurance coverage trade printed in 2010 titled “Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It.”
Mangione has been celebrated in some circles, and greater than a thousand donations have poured into an internet fundraiser for his authorized protection.
New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch mentioned any try and rationalize Mangione’s alleged actions was “vile.”
“There is no heroism in what Mangione did,” Tisch instructed reporters. “We don’t celebrate murders and we don’t lionize the killing of anyone.”
