The suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare's CEO will return to New York to face murder charges after agreeing to be extradited Thursday during a court appearance in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested last week after five days on the run. As the AP reports, Luigi Mangione waived a preliminary hearing on the Pennsylvania charges in exchange for the prosecutor giving him a 20-page investigative report from the Altoona Police Department. Mangione also agreed to be extradited to New York. Blair County Judge David Consiglio ordered that Mangione be turned over to the New York Police Department. At least a dozen uniformed NYPD officers were in the courtroom.
Mangione has been charged in New York with murder as an act of terrorism and could face life in prison without parole if convicted. He could appear in New York state court for arraignment on Thursday afternoon or Friday. Pete Weeks, the district attorney in Pennsylvania's Blair County, has said he was willing to put the Pennsylvania charges on hold while New York authorities prosecute Mangione for the Dec. 4 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Mangione is accused of giving police a fake New Jersey identification and having a gun and silencer in his bag.
In a court filing last week, Mangione's defense attorney Tom Dickey argued that prosecutors hadn't shown there's sufficient evidence to hold Mangione, that he was in New York when Thompson was killed, or that he's a fugitive from justice. Mangione, 26, of Towson, Maryland, was arrested on Dec. 9 when police were called to a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Authorities say Mangione was carrying the gun used to kill Thompson, a passport, a fake ID, and about $10,000 in US and foreign currency. Dickey has questioned the evidence for the forgery charge and the legal basis for a gun charge. He had previously indicated Mangione would fight extradition to New York while being held in a Pennsylvania state prison. (A federal indictment could mean the death penalty.)