The federal murder trial of Luigi Mangione, accused of assassinating UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, has been delayed due to a scheduling conflict with his state-level trial. Mangione, 28, is also facing a separate state-level murder case in the shooting of Thompson, 50, in December 2024.
Justice Department prosecutors and Mangione's defense team have been working on the jury questionnaire for his federal trial since April. However, Judge Margaret Garnett announced that jury selection in the federal case has been pushed back to January 5, 2027, with opening statements expected on January 25.
The delay was expected, as the state trial is set to begin on September 8, and the federal trial was tentatively scheduled to begin in October. The proposed jury questionnaires have not been made public, but the sides have argued about them in court filings. Prosecutors have objected to some of the defense's proposed questions, calling them overly intrusive or duplicative.
The defense seeks to ask jurors about their living situations, employment status, and background information, including their faith and any prejudices with the criminal justice system. They also want to know if a juror regularly stays at the Hilton on 6th Avenue, the scene of the crime, or if they work for or hold stock in UnitedHealthcare.
Last week, reports suggested that Mangione's attorneys and federal prosecutors were discussing a plea deal, but were unable to come to an agreement. Mangione's lawyer, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, denied the reports, calling them a "troubling, deliberate pattern" to prejudice her client.
In a separate development, Mangione's lawyers withdrew a potential psychiatric defense in the state case, citing a notice made public just a day earlier. The defense had planned to pursue an extreme emotional disturbance defense in the state case, which could have reduced the murder charge to manslaughter and lowered the potential sentence.
Mangione is accused of plotting the murder, traveling across state lines to New York City ahead of a UnitedHealthcare business conference, and shooting Thompson in the back outside the venue. He used a fake name to check into a Manhattan hostel and then fled to Altoona, Pennsylvania, where police arrested him at a McDonald's restaurant.
