What you need to know about the Luigi Magione saga this week

It’s been nearly a week since Maryland-born Luigi Mangione was arrested Dec. 9 in an Altoona McDonald’s in connection with the assassination of United Health Group CEO Brian Thompson on Dec. 5.

Mangione, a member of a prominent Baltimore family and a University of Pennsylvania graduate, is currently being held in Blair County, Pennsylvania. Here’s what you need to know as we enter this week.

He’s re-lawyered up

Mangione has retained Karen Friedman Agnifilo, a high-profile former prosecutor, as his defense lawyer. He was represented by Thomas Dickey in his initial court appearances last week.

Friedman-Agnifilo, a former top prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, is known for her extensive experience in handling high-profile cases. She recently joined her husband, Marc Agnifilo, in private practice. Notably, Marc Agnifilo is currently representing Sean “Diddy” Combs in separate legal matters. Yes, that Sean “Diddy” Combs …

Last week, it seemed that Mangione would contest his extradition to New York. He appeared in court in Pennsylvania last week and was not cooperative with being transferred to New York, where he faces second-degree murder charges. He is currently held without bail in Pennsylvania on charges related to a 3D-printed firearm and counterfeit ID.

But the change in representation might mean a change in tactics. In other news:

• New York might soon move to charge him with first-degree murder.
• Police sources say Mangione never had insurance with United Healthcare.
• He considered using a bomb but decided on an untraceable ghost gun to avoid putting others’ lives at risk.

It’s also worth noting that Mangione’s family might have played a part in his identification. His mother filed a missing persons report in San Francisco on November 18, about 16 days before the shooting. She later informed the FBI that her son might be the suspect in the surveillance images a day before his arrest.

Where was Luigi?

Mangione fled New York soon after the shooting. Police originally thought he had left via bus, but later said it appeared he had done so by train, possibly to Philadelphia.

He was arrested Dec. 9 in Altoona, after stepping off a Greyhound bus traveling from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. It begs the question: Was Mangione laying low in Philly for four days? And if so, with whom? To which we can only say, if you know anything, reach out.

Luigi enters the zeitgeist

The conversation about Mangione’s actions has gone from the reactions online of those who felt his actions were justified by an unjust healthcare system (including a Penn professor who later removed and apologized for her TikTok on the subject) to a persistent topic of the opener and host Chris Rock’s monologue on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live”. The opening considered whether being “hot” (the term was BDE, apparently) was a mitigating factor and Rock, while offering condolences to his family, asked if Thompson’s position, as the head of a healthcare company that made life-and-death decisions, invited violence, as only Rock could do.

Donations pouring in

An online campaign supporting Mangione’s legal expenses has collected over $100,000.

Evidence details

Police revealed that Mangione’s fingerprints match those found on a water bottle and protein bar near the murder scene. The shell casings at the crime scene also match the ghost gun found in Mangione’s possession.

Mangione’s next court appearance in Pennsylvania is not scheduled until the end of the month. However, his change in representation could change that schedule. Keep checking in with Billy Penn to know what’s happening next.

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