The writings in a notebook found in Luigi Mangione’s possession are helping investigators build a federal case against the alleged killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, authorities said.
“The details are finally coming together,” read an entry dated August 15 in the notebook, according to a federal complaint unsealed on Thursday, CNN reported.
Mangione allegedly wrote in the book, “I’m glad – in a way – that I’ve procrastinated”. He stated that this gave him time to learn more about the company which he was targeting — whose name has been redacted by prosecutors.
“‘The target is insurance’ because ‘it checks every box,'” read another line in the notebook, as per the complaint.
The 26-year-old Mangione appeared in a New York court on Thursday to face federal charges, including murder. This came on top of the state charges that Mangione already faces for allegedly killing Thompson on December 4 in Manhattan, including the first-degree murder as an act of terrorism.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said that both state and federal trials will “work in parallel”. Among the new charges include murder through use of a firearm, two stalking charges as well as a firearms offense.
Karen Friedman Agnifilo, Mangione’s defence attorney, has claimed that the new charges “raise serious constitutional and statutory double jeopardy concerns.”
What’s next?
For now, Mangione will be held in federal detention. He is next expected to face the state trial before the federal one, as per the prosecutors.
The prosecutors in Manhattan are working along with the federal authorities to schedule an arraignment for the accused on state murder charges, which may happen as soon as Monday, reported CNN. Meanwhile, the federal prosecutors may next seek an indictment from a grand jury.
It must be noted that the federal charges now introduce the possibility of the accused — Luigi Mangione — being sentenced to death once he is found guilty of the federal murder charge. On the other hand, the state charges carry a maximum penalty of life in prison, while there is no possibility of parole.
As of now, prosecutors have not indicated if they will be seeking the death penalty. Ultimately, this decision will be required to get approval from the US Attorney General.