Luigi Mangione could face capital punishment as death penalty expert added to defense team

A death penalty expert was appointed to the defense team of Luigi Mangione on Tuesday by a federal judge in New York. Mangione, 26, is charged with the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in front of a Midtown Manhattan hotel in December.

Among Mangione’s federal charges is murder through use of a firearm, which makes Mangione eligible for the death penalty if found guilty. In a Tuesday order, Judge Katherine Parker approved the appointment of Avraham Markowitz to the case, who is an expert in capital cases, ABC News reported.

A spokesperson for Agnifilo Intrater, the law firm Mangione’s lead attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, is from, said in a statement, "The Agnifilo Intrater team is pleased to have Avi Moskowitz lend his considerable expertise in death penalty cases to Mr. Mangione's federal case as 'learned counsel.' The charges could not be more serious and our client needs every resource at his disposal to fight these unprecedented charges in three jurisdictions."

Mangione was charged with one count of using a firearm to commit murder, one count of interstate stalking resulting in death, one count of stalking through use of interstate facilities resulting in death, and one count of discharging a firearm that was equipped with a silencer in furtherance of a crime of violence in the federal indictment.

Mangione has also been charged with two counts of second-degree murder, one of which is charged as killing as an act of terrorism; and multiple counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the state of New York.

Mangione is accused of approaching Thompson from behind outside a Manhattan hotel and shooting him multiple times. He fled the scene on foot and was not captured by police until days later when a McDonald’s worker in Pennsylvania recognized Mangione and called police.