Surprise plea from accused CEO killer

The man accused of shooting dead a US healthcare company executive appeared in a New York City court on Monday, US time. 

Luigi Mangione, 26, pleaded not guilty to murder and terrorism charges.

He was arraigned on 11 state criminal charges. He has yet to be arraigned on further federal charges including stalking and murder which which could see the death penalty imposed. 

He entered the Manhattan Criminal Court wearing a maroon sweater, khaki pants and a white shirt with his hands restrained.

Mr Mangione is accused of shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brain Thomson on December 4 outside an entrance to the Hilton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan.

When the judge asked him how he intended to plea, Mr Mangione leaned forward and said “not guilty” into a microphone.

At one point in the proceedings the accused smiled as he attended to paperwork.

Mr Mangione’s lawyers Karen Friedman Agnifilo asked for access to large amounts of material relating to the case including many hours of CCTV footage.

Ms Agnifilo said she was “very concerned” about whether her client would be able to get a fair trial. 

After the hearing, Mr Mangione was taken from the court to the nearby Metropolitan Detention Centre, in downtown Manhattan, where he is being held. That is the same prison where Jeffrey Epstein was jailed and died.

Mr Mangione was extradited from Pennsylvania where he was arrested after being spotted at a McDonald's.

He could face the death penalty after he agreed to be extradited to New York with a federal indictment revealing more details of a notebook police say they found when he was arrested.

Federal investigators allege Mr Mangione methodically plotted out the killing, surveilling the chief executive and taking measures to mask his identity before and after the shooting, according to a criminal complaint.

Court documents allege the alleged gunman arrived in New York On November 24 with the “the purpose of stalking and killing Brian Thompson”.

After performing surveillance on his target for several days, the FBI alleges, Mr Mangione waited outside the Midtown Hilton hotel for an hour for the insurance boss to leave before shooting multiple times.

“The target is insurance” because, “it checks every box,” an entry dated August 15 in Mr Mangione’s notebook said, according to the complaint.

He allegedly wrote about plans to “wack” an insurance company boss, and stated “the details are finally coming together … I’m glad in a way that I’ve procrastinated, bc [because] it allowed me to learn more about [a company]”.

The notebook also had an entry stating that the investor conference that Mr Thompson was heading to when he was killed was a “true windfall”, according to the complaint.

Documents seen by news.com.au reveal Mr Mangione also allegedly wrote a letter “To The Feds” in which he stated “I wasn’t working with anyone”.

“This was fairly trivial: Some elementary social engineering, basic CAD, a lot of patience.

“P.S. you can check serial numbers to verify this is all self-funded. My own ATM withdrawals.”

The unsealed court documents also reveal the federal gun charge relates to the use of a silencer or suppressor during the shooting.

- With Heath Parkes-Upton and AFP.