Luigi Mangione, suspected of having assassinated the boss of the American health insurer UnitedHealthcare, pleads not guilty to “terrorist” murder

Luigi Mangione, suspected of having murdered an American health insurance boss to take revenge on this sector, pleaded not guilty, Monday, December 23, to the charge of murder as an act “terrorist” before the New York courts.

“Not guilty”said the 26-year-old young man, who entered the courtroom of the New York criminal court, handcuffed and escorted by several police officers. Luigi Mangione is accused of fatally shooting Brian Thompson, the CEO of the country's largest private health insurer, UnitedHealthcare, on December 4 in New York.

The engineering graduate, a brilliant former student from a wealthy family in Baltimore (East), appeared calm during this brief hearing, wearing a burgundy sweater and a white shirt. Last week, he had already appeared for the same facts, but as part of a separate procedure, before the federal courts, which also initiated proceedings.

A murder at the foot of the skyscrapers

In New York State justice, Luigi Mangione was indicted by a grand jury – a panel of citizens with investigative powers – on eleven counts, including murder as an act “terrorist”.

As of December 4, images captured by video surveillance showing the killer coldly holding his silenced weapon and shooting the 50-year-old boss on a sidewalk in Manhattan's 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 in Altoona, a small rural town located about 500 kilometers west of New York, in the state of Pennsylvania.

Numerous elements implicate him in the murder: his fingerprints were found near the crime scene, as were cartridge cases matching those of the kit weapon found on him, some elements of which were made using of a 3D printer. In Mr. Mangione's 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 first private health insurer at the foot of the skyscrapers of New York caused a shock, it also triggered 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.