Luigi Mangione lawyers to argue he suffered 'extreme emotional disturbance' at time of healthcare CEO's killing

Surveillance video showing Luigi Mangione allegedly shooting a healthcare CEO in the back.

At a hearing in Manhattan on Tuesday, the judge in the Luigi Mangione murder case revealed that his defense lawyers plan to make an "affirmative psychiatric defense" at his trial later this year, and will argue that Mangione suffered an "extreme emotional disturbance" at the time UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot in the back in December 2024. 

Judge Gregory Carro revealed the defense strategy at a court hearing in lower Manhattan Wednesday morning, and ordered Mangione's defense team to provide the 28-year-old's psychiatric records to prosecutors, ABC News reported. His state trial, for second-degree murder, is scheduled to begin in early September. Mangione also faces federal murder and terrorism charges. He has pleaded not guilty to the crime.

With the disclosure of the legal defense strategy, Mangione's lawyers are all but admitting that their client killed Thompson, the 54-year-old CEO and father of two, in early December of 2024.

Indeed, surveillance video showed an individual who authorities say is Mangione approaching Thompson from behind on a street in midtown Manhattan and fatally shooting him in the back from point-blank range during the early-morning hours on December 4, 2024, firing several additional shots at Thompson as he collapsed on the sidewalk, and then casually walking away from the scene of the crime. 

Luigi Mangione mug shots.

A five-day manhunt for Thompson's killer ensued and captivated the nation, before culminating with Mangione's arrest at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania. 

Mangione is facing life in prison if convicted and the decision to pursue a mental health defense is significant, Gary Galperin, a former prosecutor in Manhattan told The New York Times. 

“He’s saying that he did it, which is a big concession,” Galperin, who now is a professor at the Cardozo School of law, told the Times. “While it’s a viable defense, based on these facts, he will have a high hurdle to convince a jury."

Andrea Burkhart, a former litigator and legal expert, said in a post on X that the admission that Mangione killed Thompson means the defense is "arguing for a manslaughter conviction instead of murder." Below, watch a clip from Fox News about Wednesday's revelation in court.