“Not guilty,” Mangione said before the court in Manhattan, New York, when surrounded by four police officers, he leaned into the microphone after the judge asked him to comment on the charges, according to CBS News. Before that, he spoke quietly with his lawyers.
According to the indictment, Mangione killed the head of the aforementioned insurance company, Brian Thompson, on December 4, when this high-ranking manager went to a meeting with investors. “The purpose of the murder was to cause terror,” said prosecutor Alvin Bragg.
Prosecutors say a gun believed to be a murder weapon and a fake ID were found in Mangione’s possession. He also had with him a notebook with contents in which he expressed his animosity towards the health insurance system in the US and especially rich managers.
In addition, security camera footage captured a man whose appearance matches the suspect before and after the attack in the incriminated locations, including the Hilton Hotel, where the victim was shot in the back.
Mangione was arrested in Pennsylvania and handed over to New York justice last week. He faces charges at the New York state level, where he faces life in prison, and at the same time at the federal level, where he could also receive the death penalty.
The case is closely watched in the United States because it is related to the bad reputation of health insurance companies. A number of people on social networks express their sympathy to Mangione.
The judge scheduled the next hearing of the case for February 21 next year.
“An insult to the American people!” The suspect in the murder of the head of an American insurance company shouted in court
Foreign
