Crime and Courts

See photos and sketches as Luigi Mangione makes court appearance in Pennsylvania

Mangione will be extradited to New York City to face charges there

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Luigi Mangione is expected to formally waive extradition at a court hearing on Thursday, which would allow him to be taken to New York to face murder charges. NBC New York’s Sarah Wallace reports from Altoona, Pennsylvania.

The suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO is being returned to New York to face murder charges after agreeing to be extradited Thursday during a court appearance in Pennsylvania where he was arrested last week after five days on the run.

Luigi Mangione waived his right to an extradition hearing and was immediately turned over to at least a dozen New York Police Department officers who were in the courtroom.

Mangione was immediately ushered out of the courthouse while surrounded by police. He glanced side-to-side but stepped quietly into a black SUV, contrasting his last court appearance when he struggled with deputies and shouted at reporters.

The SUV pulled away, surrounded by law enforcement vehicles, beginning Mangione's trip back to New York.

Blair County District Attorney Pete Weeks said he wanted to turn Mangione over to New York authorities as soon as possible.

Mangione, 26, has been charged in New York with murder as an act of terrorism and could face life in prison without parole if convicted. He could appear in New York state court for arraignment on Thursday afternoon or Friday.

The Ivy League graduate is accused of ambushing and shooting Brian Thompson on Dec. 4 outside a Manhattan hotel where the head of the United States’ largest health insurer was walking to an investor conference. The shooting was captured on security video, but the suspect eluded police before Mangione was captured about 277 miles (446 kilometers) west of New York.

Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the killing of a UnitedHealth Group Inc. chief executive officer Brian Thompson, exits the Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, US, on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. Mangione will be extradited to New York to face murder charges after he dropped his opposition to the move in court on Thursday. Photographer: Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the killing of a UnitedHealth Group Inc. chief executive officer Brian Thompson, exits the Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, US, on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. Mangione will be extradited to New York to face murder charges after he dropped his opposition to the move in court on Thursday. Photographer: Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Weeks said he was willing to put the Pennsylvania charges on hold while New York authorities prosecute Mangione.

Mangione was arrested on Dec. 9 when police were called to a McDonald's restaurant on a commercial strip in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after he was reported to match the description of Thompson's killer.

Authorities say Mangione was carrying the gun used to kill Thompson, a passport, a fake ID and about $10,000 in U.S. and foreign currency. His lawyer, Dickey, has questioned the evidence for the forgery charge and the legal basis for a gun charge. He had previously indicated Mangione would fight extradition to New York while being held in a Pennsylvania state prison.

Mangione, a computer science graduate from a prominent Maryland family, was carrying a handwritten letter that called health insurance companies “parasitic” and complained about corporate greed, according to a law enforcement bulletin obtained by The Associated Press last week.

Luigi Nicholas Mangione leaves the Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, on December 19, 2024. Mangione, 26, is accused of shooting UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson on a Manhattan street on December 4, triggering a nationwide manhunt that ended last week when he was spotted at a Pennsylvania McDonald's. The former data engineer remains jailed in that state as he fights efforts to extradite him to New York to face charges there over the killing. (Photo by Gene J. Puskar / POOL / AFP) (Photo by GENE J. PUSKAR/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
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Luigi Nicholas Mangione leaves the Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, on December 19, 2024. Mangione, 26, is accused of shooting UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson on a Manhattan street on December 4, triggering a nationwide manhunt that ended last week when he was spotted at a Pennsylvania McDonald's. The former data engineer remains jailed in that state as he fights efforts to extradite him to New York to face charges there over the killing. (Photo by Gene J. Puskar / POOL / AFP) (Photo by GENE J. PUSKAR/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
HOLLIDAYSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA - DECEMBER 19: Luigi Mangione, suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, departs after a hearing at Blair County Courthouse on December 19, 2024 in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. Mangione appeared in Pennsylvania court on forgery and firearms charges on Thursday where he waived extradition to New York after being indicted on 11 charges including first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism. (Photo by Gene J. Puskar-Pool/Getty Images)
HOLLIDAYSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA - DECEMBER 19: Luigi Mangione, suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, departs after a hearing at Blair County Courthouse on December 19, 2024 in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. Mangione appeared in Pennsylvania court on forgery and firearms charges on Thursday where he waived extradition to New York after being indicted on 11 charges including first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism. (Photo by Gene J. Puskar-Pool/Getty Images)

Luigi Mangione courtroom sketches

Dave Klug
Dave Klug
Dave Klug
HOLLIDAYSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA - DECEMBER 19:  Luigi Mangione, suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, departs after a hearing at Blair County Courthouse on December 19, 2024 in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. Mangione appeared in Pennsylvania court on forgery and firearms charges on Thursday where he waived extradition to New York after being indicted on 11 charges including first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism.(Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
HOLLIDAYSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA - DECEMBER 19: Luigi Mangione, suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, departs after a hearing at Blair County Courthouse on December 19, 2024 in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. Mangione appeared in Pennsylvania court on forgery and firearms charges on Thursday where he waived extradition to New York after being indicted on 11 charges including first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism.(Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
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