Luigi Mangione to appear in court Tuesday; trial to begin Sept. 8

Aug. 11 (UPI) — Luigi Mangione, accused shooter of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, will appear in court Tuesday for his final appearance before jury selection begins in his state murder trial.

The appearance is to firm up details of the trial, which is set to begin Sept. 8.

Mangione, 28, is accused of the shooting death of Thompson, 50, on a Manhattan street outside a Midtown hotel on Dec. 4, 2024. He was arrested several days later at an Altoona, Pa., McDonald’s.

In June, Mangione’s lawyers withdrew their plan to use a psychiatric defense in his state trial after the judge in the case said they would have to submit all his psychiatric records.

Mangione’s lawyers discussed a possible guilty plea in his federal case in June, ABC News reported, though it wasn’t clear how close they came to an agreement. Prosecutors in the state case said that if he accepted a plea deal in the federal case, they would argue for a stiffer sentence in the New York case.

Mangione’s lawyers have claimed that state court officials and prosecutors created a media plan that decided which reporters would have seats at the trial without including the defense, The Guardian reported. But that claim was debunked.

The defense later submitted a letter to clarify its position but still wanted a hearing on the issue.

Mangione is also set to face a federal trial scheduled for Jan. 5.