New York murder suspect to contest extradition

The 26-year-old man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson in Manhattan plans to contest extradition to New York to face murder charges from Pennsylvania, where he was arrested, he said. the judge his defense lawyer.

Suspect Luigi Mangione was also denied bail for the second time, a day after he was arrested at a fast food restaurant following a five-day manhunt.

As he entered the courthouse surrounded by police officers, Mangione yelled at reporters, saying, "...totally out of touch with reality and an insult to the intelligence of the American people!". It was not clear who he was referring to.

Mangione's refusal to be extradited automatically starts a formal process that could take weeks, though he is unlikely to succeed in preventing his transfer, legal experts say.

Investigators were trying to trace suspect Mangione's movements in Pennsylvania in recent days, as well as whether the suspect was assisted by an associate, before or after the shooting outside a midtown Manhattan hotel.

Mangione was spotted at a McDonald's restaurant on Monday by an employee who thought he looked like the gunman in the images released by police. He was found with a gun, clothing and fake identification similar to those used by the attacker, police said.

He faces gun and forgery charges in Pennsylvania and was arraigned in Altoona on Monday. An arrest warrant for Mangione, filed Tuesday in Manhattan Criminal Court, lists one count of second-degree murder, three counts of criminal possession of a weapon and one count of criminal possession of a forged instrument.

While the motive for the attack remains unclear, police have said that the victim, Thompson, an executive at one of the largest health insurance companies, was deliberately attacked.

Suspect Mangione, when he was arrested, had a manifesto of his own that offered insight into his motives, according to police. The New York Times reported that an internal New York City police report that analyzed the handwritten document concluded that Mangione saw the killing as a challenge to the corruption of the health care sector. VOA (A2 Televizion)