Mangione Gets His Delay, but It's a Slight One

The man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare's top executive will wait a little longer to face a federal jury. A Manhattan federal judge on Wednesday pushed back the start of Luigi Mangione's trial in the shooting death of CEO Brian Thompson. Jury selection will start on Oct. 5, with opening statements now expected either Oct. 26 or Nov. 2, reports NBC News. Jury selection had been scheduled to begin in early September, with opening statements slated for Oct. 13. Mangione's attorneys had sought a delay until January.

That's because the 27-year-old is also set to stand trial in New York state court on June 8 on nine felony counts, including second-degree murder and weapons charges, in connection with Thompson's Dec. 4, 2024, killing outside the New York Hilton Midtown. The AP reports that case is expected to take four to six weeks. Had they succeeded in getting the federal case pushed to 2027, Mangione's lawyers then planned to seek to delay the state case until September.

US District Judge Margaret Garnett said that plan doesn't "solve any of these problems because it shifts the very same problems from the summer to the fall." She continued, "I am skeptical of moving the (federal) trial wholesale into 2027 when the state trial has not been adjourned. It is a little bit of a tail wagging the dog." Mangione has pleaded not guilty in both cases.