UnitedHealthcare CEO killing latest: Luigi Mangione may waive extradition, DA says

(NEW YORK) — Luigi Mangione, the suspect accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, may waive extradition to New York City as early as Tuesday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said on Friday.

“Indications are that the defendant may waive, but that waiver is not complete until a court proceeding,” Bragg said.

The earliest a court proceeding could be scheduled in Pennsylvania is Tuesday, Bragg said.

“So until that time, we are going to continue to press forward on parallel paths,” he said. “We will be ready, whether he is going to waive extradition or whether he is going to contest extradition.”

Prosecutors at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office have begun presenting evidence to a grand jury as they work to secure an indictment against Mangione, sources told ABC News.

The DA’s office declined to comment due to the secrecy surrounding grand jury matters.

Mangione, a 26-year-old Ivy League graduate, remains in custody at a Pennsylvania state prison after a judge denied bail on Tuesday.

“He has constitutional rights and that’s what he’s doing” in challenging the interstate transfer, defense attorney Thomas Dickey told reporters on Tuesday.

Mangione was apprehended in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday after nearly one week on the run following the Dec. 4 slaying for the UnitedHealthcare CEO.

UnitedHealthcare told ABC News that Mangione was not a member of the insurer.

Authorities are still looking to access a phone recovered by police in an alley following the shooting that is believed to be linked to the suspect, sources said Thursday. Police have obtained a search warrant for the phone, sources said.

At least two other search warrants have been issued so far in the New York case. They include to search the hostel where the suspect stayed in New York City, as well as the backpack containing Monopoly money and a jacket that was found in Central Park and is believed to belong to him, sources said.

Three shell casings recovered outside the Midtown Manhattan hotel where Thompson was fatally shot match the gun allegedly found on Mangione when he was arrested, police announced Wednesday.

Fingerprints recovered from a water bottle and a Kind bar near the crime scene have also been matched to Mangione, police said.

In Pennsylvania, Mangione faces charges including allegedly possessing an untraceable ghost gun.

In New York, he faces charges including second-degree murder.