Luigi Mangione seeks ‘extreme emotional disturbance’ defense in CEO killing case

NEW YORK, June 17 (Reuters) – Luigi Mangione, the man accused of gunning down a health insurance executive in Manhattan, plans ​to argue at trial that he was in a state of “extreme ‌emotional disturbance” when he allegedly committed the crime, a judge revealed at a court hearing Wednesday.

Mangione is accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a hotel in Midtown ​in December 2024. The brazen killing was widely condemned by public officials ​but became emblematic of Americans’ frustration with rising healthcare costs and ⁠health insurance industry practices.

Mangione pleaded not guilty in December 2024 to state murder, weapons ​and forgery charges brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

His trial is set ​for September before Justice Gregory Carro in Manhattan.

New York law allows murder defendants to argue that they cannot be held fully responsible for their actions because they were in a state ​of extreme emotional disturbance at the time of the killing.

Defendants who prevail can ​reduce their conviction from murder to manslaughter, which carries significantly lower sentences.

Thompson led UnitedHealth Group’s (UNH.N), opens new tab ‌insurance ⁠unit before he was shot dead in the early morning outside a hotel where he was staying for an investor conference.

Graphic footage of the killing and a five-day manhunt for a suspect made the case a media fixture and social media ​sensation. Mangione was arrested ​in Pennsylvania.

Mangione separately pleaded ⁠not guilty in April 2025 to murder, weapons and stalking charges brought by Manhattan federal prosecutors.

U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett, ​who is overseeing that case, threw out the murder ​and weapons ⁠charges over legal technicalities in a surprise ruling in January. That decision eliminated the possibility that Mangione would face the death penalty, though he still faces a possible ⁠sentence ​of life without parole if convicted of stalking.

Jury ​selection in that case is set to begin in September, and opening statements in the trial ​are scheduled for November.