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Luigi Mangione drops mental health defense after one day in Manhattan murder case
By
Samantha Max
Published Jun 18, 2026
Modified Jun 18, 2026
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Photo by Curtis Means-Pool/Getty Images
By
Samantha Max
Published Jun 18, 2026
Modified Jun 18, 2026
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A day after a Manhattan judge revealed that Luigi Mangione plans to pursue a mental health defense at his state murder trial later this year, his attorneys changed course, according to documents filed in court Thursday.
Justice Gregory Carro announced in court Wednesday that Mangione intended to argue he was “extremely emotionally disturbed” when he allegedly killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Midtown hotel in 2024. But in a letter to the judge filed Thursday, Mangione’s lawyers said they were withdrawing their notice to bring a psychiatric case “at this time.”
Various transcripts, emails and documents were supposed to be unsealed in light of the public disclosure of the mental health defense. Those materials will now remain hidden, Carro said in a Thursday ruling.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office and Mangione’s defense team declined to comment.
Under New York law, a criminal defendant accused of murder can argue that they acted “under the influence of extreme emotional disturbance for which there was a reasonable explanation or excuse.” Pursuing such a defense at trial would shift the focus away from whether Mangione committed the crime and toward whether he was experiencing extreme mental distress at the time.
If a jury were to find that Mangione was guilty of killing Thompson but extremely emotionally disturbed when he did so, he would be convicted of first-degree manslaughter instead of second-degree murder. That could reduce his possible sentence.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, criminal weapons possession and other charges. Prosecutors say he followed Thompson to New York City, where the health insurance executive was in town for an investor conference, and fatally shot him. Police scoured surveillance footage to track Mangione’s movements after the shooting. When they arrested him, they said they found a gun, a loaded magazine and a notebook detailing his plans.
Mangione’s lawyers tried to block the firearm, the notebook and various other pieces of evidence from appearing at trial. Carro ruled last month that a jury would be allowed to see many of those items, but not a cellphone, passport, wallet or computer chip.
The case has attracted widespread attention and divided responses, with some condoning the killing and others lauding Mangione as a hero. His state trial is slated to begin in Manhattan in September. A separate federal trial on stalking charges is expected later.
This story has been updated with additional information.
Tagged
healthcare
manhattan
public safety
Samantha Max
Samantha reports on whether New Yorkers feel safe and whether the institutions that are supposed to protect them are working. Before coming to WNYC/Gothamist, she spent three years covering the criminal justice system in Tennessee for Nashville Public Radio. Her reporting on Nashville's police department received multiple awards, including the Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize. Samantha was also part of the inaugural class of Report for America, a service journalism program that sends up-and-coming reporters to local newsrooms across the country. She is a Northwestern University grad, a Baltimore native and fluent in Spanish. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal: samanthamaxwnyc.93.
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