NEW YORK (AP) — Manhattan prosecutors urged a judge on Wednesday to set a July trial date in Luigi Mangione ’s state murder case in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, two months before jury selection is set to begin in his federal death penalty case.
— Manhattan prosecutors urged a judge on Wednesday to set a July trial date in Luigi Mangione ’s state murder case in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, two months before jury selection is set to begin in his federal death penalty case.
In a letter, Assistant District Attorney Joel Seidemann asked Judge Gregory Carro to begin the New York trial on July 1, arguing that the state’s interests “would be unfairly prejudiced by an unnecessary delay” until after the federal trial. The state trial has not yet been scheduled and the next hearing isn’t until May, when Carro is expected to rule on a defense request to exclude certain evidence.
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The Manhattan district attorney’s office raised the scheduling issue days after U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett said jury selection in the federal case will begin on Sept. 8, with the rest happening either in October or January, depending on whether she allows prosecutors to seek the death penalty.
If the death penalty is still in play, the second phase of the federal trial — including opening statements and testimony — will begin Jan. 11, 2027, Garnett said at a hearing last Friday. If it’s not, opening statements will be held Oct. 13. Capital cases are more complex and require more time to prepare.
In his letter to Carro, Seidemann argued that state prosecutors were involved in the investigation from the start while federal prosecutors joined the case about two weeks after Thompson’s death, charging Mangione a day after he was indicted in state court.
