Luigi Mangione hires a high-powered New York lawyer as he faces second-degree murder charges

CNN
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Luigi Mangione has hired a high-profile New York lawyer to represent him as he faces a second-degree murder charge in connection with the death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, CNN has learned.

Karen Friedman Agnifilo will represent him in New York. Friedman Agnifilo previously worked for seven years as an assistant district attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office under Cyrus Vance Jr. and is a veteran with extensive experience in the New York City criminal justice system. She has been working in private practice since 2021.

“She has as much experience as any human being, especially in state court,” a longtime New York prosecutor told CNN. “She knows every hallway, every judge, every clerk in the courthouse.”

Friedman Agnifilo, who previously worked as a legal analyst at CNN, declined to comment.

Mangione’s new lawyer will take over his case as investigators have collected new evidence in recent days. Police told CNN this week that the 3D-printed gun he had with him when he was arrested matched the three bullet casings found at the crime scene in Midtown Manhattan. His fingerprints also matched those found by investigators on objects near the crime scene.

The fingerprint and firearm revelations come as authorities investigate Mangione, who remains jailed in Pennsylvania on weapons charges as he fights extradition to New York. However, according to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, there were signs Friday that Mangione may “waive” his extradition next week.

Pennsylvania state Judge Dave Consiglio on Tuesday denied Mangione bail in connection with both state filings and said he would remain in the Huntingdon State Correctional Institution.

Mangione also faces four other charges, including forgery and criminal possession of a firearm.

His lawyer in Pennsylvania has refused to say whether Mangione’s prominent Baltimore family is covering his legal bills, although Thomas Dickey told CNN this week that members of the public have offered to contribute.

A representative for Friedman Agnifilo declined to comment on who is paying his legal fees.

As Mangione fights extradition, a Pennsylvania court has given him 14 days to file a habeas corpus petition. This puts the burden of proof on those detaining the person to justify detention. If this is the case, a hearing will be scheduled.

Pennsylvania prosecutors have 30 days to obtain a warrant from the governor. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she would work with state attorneys general to sign it, and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro “stands ready to sign and process it immediately as soon as it is received.”

Blair County District Attorney Peter Weeks said his office is prepared to “do what is necessary” to bring Mangione back to New York.

Dickey has denied his client’s involvement in the murder in New York and expects he will plead not guilty there to murder charges, among other charges. Mangione also plans to plead not guilty to charges in Pennsylvania related to a gun and a fake ID that police allegedly found during her arrest in Altoona, Dickey said.

According to an NYPD intelligence report obtained by CNN on Tuesday, the suspect appeared to be driven by anger against the health insurance industry and “corporate greed” as a whole.

“He appeared to view the targeted killing of the company’s highest-ranking official as a symbolic exchange and a direct challenge to alleged corruption and ‘power plays,’ claiming in his note that he was the first to approach it with such brutal honesty. ‘,” said the NYPD assessment, which was based on Mangione’s “manifesto” and social media.

Along with a three-page handwritten “statement of responsibility” found by Mangione when he was detained, investigators are also looking at the suspect’s notes in a spiral notebook, a law enforcement source briefed on the matter told CNN.