Karen Friedman Agnifilo, a former senior prosecutor in Manhattan, was retained on December 14, 2024, to represent Luigi Mangione. Mangione is charged in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. He has pleaded not guilty, and the charges have not been proven in court.
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Friedman Agnifilo was chief assistant district attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for several years, working under Cyrus Vance Jr. She left the office in 2021 and went into private practice. Her law firm, Agnifilo Intrater, confirmed that she had been retained and said she would not comment on the case at that stage.
Mangione’s charges
According to reporting at the time, Mangione was charged in New York state court with second-degree murder. He had been held in Pennsylvania on gun and forgery charges after his arrest in Altoona, and he contested extradition before being transferred to New York in December 2024.
A note on connections
Friedman Agnifilo is married to Marc Agnifilo, who was representing Sean “Diddy” Combs in a separate federal case. Her husband’s firm also represents Combs, and reports at the time noted the link.
What is not known
Reporting at the time said her firm would not comment on the defence strategy. No public defence strategy has been confirmed by her or by Mangione’s lawyers.
Correction note: an earlier version of this article was a biography that included private family details and an unsourced net-worth figure. Those details have been removed. The article now covers only her role in the case.
Sources
- AP via KTVZ, “Former Manhattan prosecutor to represent suspect in killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO” (14 December 2024): https://ktvz.com/news/2024/12/14/former-manhattan-prosecutor-to-represent-suspect-in-killing-of-unitedhealthcares-ceo/
- NPR via KPBS, “Luigi Mangione retains high-profile former prosecutor as defense lawyer” (14 December 2024): https://www.kpbs.org/news/national/2024/12/14/luigi-mangione-retains-high-profile-former-prosecutor-as-defense-lawyer
- Bloomberg Law, “CEO murder suspect Mangione hires former top NY prosecutor” (14 December 2024): https://news.bloomberglaw.com/business-and-practice/ceo-murder-suspect-mangione-hires-former-top-ny-prosecutor-2
- TribLive, “Former Manhattan prosecutor to represent suspect in killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO”: https://triblive.com/news/world/former-manhattan-prosecutor-to-represent-suspect-in-killing-of-unitedhealthcares-ceo