Manhattan prosecutors submitted handwritten diary entries allegedly penned by Luigi Mangione in new court filings Wednesday, telling a judge, “If ever there were an open-and-shut case pointing to defendant’s guilt, this case is that case.”
Responding to efforts by Mangione to get his state terror case dismissed, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office said the accused killer‘s alleged writings make clear the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was political and ideologically motivated.
“Defendant’s writings further show that he hoped the murder of another human being would trigger widespread action,” Assistant District Attorney Joel Seidemann wrote.
The filing quoted a line in Mangione’s alleged writings saying he wanted to whack “the CEO at the annual parasitic bean-counter convention.”
“Defendant was hoping for a headline that read ‘INSURANCE CEO KILLED AT ANNUAL INVESTORS CONFERENCE’,” prosecutors wrote.
The contents of the alleged manifesto and various diary entries have previously been reported, but the filing provided the first glimpse at the handwritten notes.
Mangione allegedly wrote in one entry dated Aug. 15: “I finally feel confident about what l will do. The details are finally coming together. And I don’t feel any doubt about whether it’s right/justified. I’m glad — in a way — that I’ve procrastinated [because] it allowed me to learn more about [UnitedHealthcare].”
Authorities allege the Ivy League grad from Maryland shot Thompson dead as the CEO arrived for an annual healthcare conference at the Hilton Hotel in Midtown early Dec. 4 — after planning the killing for months.
State and federal prosecutors say shell casings at the scene bore words apparently hinting at the health insurance industry’s routine practice of denying claims to maximize profits: deny, “delay” and “defend.”
The DA’s office has charged Mangione with murder and terror offenses that carry the possibility of life without parole if he’s found guilty. He’s also being tried federally by the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office on murder through the use of a firearm, stalking, and related offenses. In the federal case, prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. Mangione is currently incarcerated at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center.
Following a five-day, nationwide manhunt, Mangione was arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona, PA, after a worker recognized him from CCTV footage shared by authorities, prosecutors say.
In his motion to dismiss Bragg’s case, Mangione’s lawyers argued his statements to officers after his arrest should be suppressed because he wasn’t informed of his rights, which the DA’s office contests. They say evidence retrieved should also be suppressed as officers searched his backpack without a warrant.
Mangione is also seeking to get the terrorism-related charges in the indictment dismissed, arguing that grand jury evidence failed to establish the required elements showing he intended to “intimidate or coerce a civilian population, influence the policies of a unit of government by intimidation or coercion or affect the conduct of a unit of government by murder, assassination or kidnapping.”
In response, prosecutors said: “If ever there were an open and shut case pointing to defendant’s guilt, this case is that case. Simply put, one would be hard-pressed to find a case with such overwhelming evidence of guilt as to the identity of the murderer and the premeditated nature of the assassination.”
Mangione’s lawyers also say the dueling state and federal cases violate double jeopardy laws and his constitutional rights against self-incrimination as they involve conflicting theories. They did not respond to requests for comment.
