Manhattan DA wants to try alleged CEO killer Luigi Mangione in state court first, before feds

Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News on Jan 28, 2026

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NEW YORK — State prosecutors in Manhattan on Wednesday pushed to try Luigi Mangione for the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in July, before his federal case gets underway.

In a letter to Justice Gregory Carro, Assistant District Attorney Joel Seidemann said state prosecutors should get to present their case before President Trump’s Justice Department, given that local prosecutors handle almost all murders in New York, they and the NYPD took the lead on the investigation into the Dec. 4, 2024, killing, and DA Alvin Bragg’s office first filed charges.

“This heinous crime happened in midtown Manhattan, one of the busiest commercial areas in this County and spread fear and shock throughout Manhattan. New York State unquestionably has a deep interest in, upholding the fundamental right to life, maintaining public order, and delivering justice for a murder committed in its jurisdiction,” Seidemann wrote.

“The State has an overriding interest in trying this defendant for the cold-blooded execution of Brian Thompson,” the prosecutor later wrote. “It resulted in the tragic death of a guest to our city on our streets.”

Seidemann said allowing the federal case to go first would significantly delay and severely compromise the state prosecution. A verdict in the federal case would lead to protracted litigation over its impact on the state case, he said.

Judge Margaret Garnett, presiding over Mangione’s federal case, has scheduled jury selection to begin on Sept. 8, with testimony to begin in October this year or in January of 2027, depending on how she rules on Mangione’s bid to bar federal prosecutors from seeking capital punishment, which would require a longer jury selection process and a second stage to the trial if there’s a conviction, known as the death penalty phase.

The defense quickly pushed back on the request as unrealistic.

In a statement, Mangione’s attorney said his legal team would need the rest of the year to prepare for the federal case.

“This is the first that the defense is hearing about this request. The federal government already has a firm trial date set in September,” Karen Friedman Agnifilo said.

“As a practical matter, Mr. Mangione’s defense team will require the remainder of the year to prepare for that trial. We will respond to the Court about this unrealistic request in the coming days.”

A spokesman for the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office declined to comment. After Mangione’s extradition to New York, the former acting chief of the federal prosecutor’s office, Edward Kim, said the state case was expected to proceed to trial first.

Mangione, 27, has pleaded not guilty in both cases and to lower-level state charges in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested at a McDonald’s allegedly carrying a fake ID five days after Thompson was fatally shot outside the Hilton hotel in Midtown. Minnesota man Thompson, a 50-year-old father of two high school students, was visiting the city for a conference.

As the nationwide hunt for his suspected killer stretched into its fifth day, authorities say a manager at the McDonald’s restaurant called 911 after customers recognized Mangione from wanted posters.

In the state case, Carro is expected to rule in May on Mangione’s motion to suppress evidence from the trial that was recovered by Altoona, Pa., cops during his arrest.

The evidence Mangione is trying to get barred include personal writings in which he allegedly laid out plans to target a health insurance industry executive, a 3D-printed ghost gun authorities allege he used to murder Thompson, and ammunition matching that found at the scene, where shell casings bore the words "delay, deny, and defend," in apparent reference to the industry routinely denying claims to maximize profits.

The defense has argued in both cases that the Altoona officers unlawfully combed through Mangione’s belongings without a warrant. Garnett is yet to rule on whether the evidence can come into the federal case, in addition to the death penalty matter. Mangione is set to appear before her for a hearing on Friday.

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