Luigi Mangione – the alleged killer of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO – quietly and calmly departed a courthouse after waiving extradition and boarded a plane to New York.
Mangione, 26, on Thursday morning did not struggle with authorities or shout as he was lead out of Blair County Courthouse in Pennsylvania, unlike his last court appearance.
Wearing an orange jail suit over a dark shirt, Mangione looked around and then stepped into a black SUV that was surrounded by law enforcement vehicles.
Shortly before 11am, Mangione boarded a plane extraditing him to New York, where he has been indicted on 11 charges in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Mangione appeared at Blair County Courthouse in Pennsylvania for two hearings on Thursday morning, the first on charges he faces in the state and the second on his extradition to New York.
Court sketches showed Mangione leaning back in the courtroom and appearing to study documents in a collected manner.
The accused killer – who was arrested in Altoona five days after Thompson, 50, was shot dead in Midtown Manhattan on December 4 – initially indicated through his lawyer that he would fight extradition.
But Mangione defense team change their mind as he was hit with an 11-count indictment from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office on Tuesday.
‘We have indications that the defendant may waive that hearing, in which case he brought to New York forthwith,’ said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of the extradition matter on Tuesday.
Mangione in set to appear at a federal courthouse in New York on Thursday, several law enforcement officials told CNN.
In New York, Mangione is charged with two counts of second-degree murder including one that is killing as an act of terrorism. He is also charged with two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, four counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a count of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, and a count of fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
The slaying outside the Hilton hotel ‘was intended to evoke terror’, stated Bragg.
‘This was a frightening, well-planned, targeted murder that was intended to cause shock and attention and intimidation,’ he said.
The public has been divided on the case, with some people praising Mangione for his alleged message in writings attacking health insurance companies denying patient claims.
A GiveSendGo fundraiser for Mangione’s legal defense had raised more than $155,000 as of Wednesday evening, and expanded its goal to $500,000.
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