\n<\/p>\n
NEW YORK — <\/span>Manhattan prosecutors urged a judge on Wednesday to set a July trial date in Luigi Mangione<\/a> \u2019s 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.<\/p>\n 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 \u201cwould be unfairly prejudiced by an unnecessary delay\u201d 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.<\/p>\n The Manhattan district attorney\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n If the death penalty is still in play, the second phase of the federal trial \u2014 including opening statements and testimony \u2014 will begin Jan. 11, 2027, Garnett said at a hearing last Friday. If it\u2019s not, opening statements will be held Oct. 13. Capital cases are more complex and require more time to prepare.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s death, charging Mangione a day after he was indicted in state court.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is entirely natural then that the state case would proceed to trial prior to the federal case,\u201d the prosecutor wrote, citing legal precedent. The state, he said, \u201chas an overriding interest in trying this defendant for the cold-blooded execution of Brian Thompson.\u201d<\/p>\n At the time of Mangione\u2019s arrest, Manhattan\u2019s top federal prosecutor had said he anticipated the state case would go to trial first.<\/p>\n It isn’t just a matter of scheduling. Under New York law, the district attorney\u2019s office would be barred from trying Mangione on state murder charges if his federal case goes to trial first. The state\u2019s double jeopardy protections kick in if a jury has been sworn in a prior prosecution, such as a federal case, or if that prosecution ends in a guilty plea.<\/p>\n Mangione is due back in court in the federal case on Friday with Garnett set to rule soon on a variety of pretrial issues, including whether it remains a capital case and whether prosecutors will be permitted to show jurors some of evidence debated in the state case.<\/p>\n Those items include a 9 mm handgun<\/a> that prosecutors say matches the one used in the killing and a notebook in which they say he described his intent to \u201cwack\u201d a health insurance executive.<\/p>\n Mangione has pleaded not guilty to federal and state murder charges; the state charges carry the possibility of life in prison. He is due back in court for a conference in the federal case on Friday.<\/p>\n In his letter, Seidemann told Carro that the Manhattan district attorney\u2019s office is ready to proceed to trial and that any outstanding pretrial issues in the state case can be resolved before July.<\/p>\n After holding a three-week hearing in December on the defense\u2019s evidence request, Carro said he wouldn’t rule until May 18, \u201cbut that could change.\u201d<\/p>\n Thompson, 50, was killed on Dec. 4, 2024, as he walked to a midtown Manhattan hotel for UnitedHealth Group\u2019s annual investor conference. Surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting him from behind. Police say \u201cdelay,\u201d \u201cdeny\u201d and \u201cdepose\u201d were written on the ammunition, mimicking a phrase used to describe how insurers avoid paying claims.<\/p>\n Mangione, a 27-year-old Ivy League graduate from a wealthy Maryland family, was arrested five days later<\/a> at a McDonald\u2019s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 230 miles (about 370 kilometers) west of Manhattan.<\/p>\n In September, Carro threw out state terrorism charges<\/a> but kept the rest of the case \u2014 including an intentional murder charge \u2014 in place.<\/p>\n