Luigi Mangione Shackled and Pale as He Denies CEO Murder
Luigi Mangione looked a world away from the pin-up prisoner he was being portrayed on social media as he shuffled into court in shackles.
Hollow-eyed and pale-faced, he was led through the halls to the court under heavy guard with law enforcement officers on both sides. Chains circled his waist and wrists and led down to his ankles.
His fingernails looked bitten down and there was reddening around his eyes.
His appearance was in stark contrast to his arrival in New York on December 19 when he was seen clean-shaven and fresh-faced after being extradited from Pennsylvania, where he was arrested.
Mangione, 26, was wearing civilian clothes - a maroon sweater over a white button-down and khaki pants. He pleaded not guilty in the New York courtroom to state charges in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
His attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo said she was “very concerned” over whether Mangione would get a fair trial and complained the court authorities were making a spectacle of the case, according to CBS News.
“This is a highly unusual situation we find ourselves in. I have never seen anything like that,” Agnifilo said.
Several women who claimed they were supporters of the defendant said they were hoping to get into the public gallery. About two dozen fans were gathered outside.
Prosecutors claim Mangione was found in possession of the suspected murder weapon and they say there is surveillance video showing a man fitting his description from both before and after the attack.
He pleaded not guilty to 11 charges, including first-degree murder. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole if convicted of the state charges. A parallel federal case includes a charge of murder through the use of a firearm, which carries the death penalty.
