Luigi Mangione, suspected of having assassinated one of the big bosses of American health insurance to take revenge against this sector, pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of murder as a “terrorist” act before the New York justice.
Not guilty
pronounced the 26-year-old young man, who entered the courtroom of the New York criminal court escorted by several police officers, his hands handcuffed and restrained by a metal chain around the waist.
Luigi Mangione is accused of having shot several times, on December 4 in New York, Brian Thompson, the president and CEO of the country's largest private insurer, UnitedHealthcare.
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Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was hit several times in the street by a man a few steps behind him.
Photo : (UnitedHealth Group)
The engineering graduate, a brilliant former student from a wealthy Baltimore family, appeared calm during the brief hearing. He was dressed in a red sweater and a white shirt.
Last week, he already appeared for the same facts, but as part of a separate procedure before the federal courts, which also initiated proceedings.
In New York State justice, Luigi Mangione was indicted by a grand jury – a panel of citizens with investigative powers – on 11 counts, including murder as an act terrorist
.
As of December 4, the images captured by video surveillance of the killer holding his silencer weapon and shooting the 50-year-old boss on a sidewalk in the Manhattan business district had gone around the world.
The suspect managed to flee and leave New York.
Five days later, Luigi Mangione was recognized and arrested at a McDonald's restaurant in Altoona, a small rural town about 300 miles west of New York, Pennsylvania.
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United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed before 7 a.m. on Dec. 4 while he was scheduled to attend his company's annual investor meeting. The NYPD offered a $10,000 reward to anyone who could provide information about the shooter.
Photo : Getty Images / Alex Kent
Many elements implicate him in the murder: his fingerprints were found near the crime scene, as were shell casings corresponding to a weapon, some elements of which were made with a 3D printer, which were found on him.
In his belongings, the police also found a three-page handwritten text targeting the health insurance sector.
If the targeted assassination of the boss of the country's largest private insurer, at the foot of the skyscrapers of New York, caused a shock, it also led to a deluge of hateful comments on social networks against the programs of American health insurance, illustrating deep anger towards a system accused of prioritizing profit over care.
